Pollen trapping and sugar syrup feeding of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enhance pollen collection of less preferred flowers.

Pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) is characterized by being self-incompatible and dependent on cross-pollination to set fruit. Honeybee (Apis mellifera) is considered the most important pollinator of pear. Nevertheless, limited pollen transfer has been cited as the main cause of poor fruit set in many pea...

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Main Authors: Tolera Kumsa Gemeda, Jilian Li, Shudong Luo, Huipeng Yang, Tingting Jin, Jiaxing Huang, Jie Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6135515?pdf=render
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author Tolera Kumsa Gemeda
Jilian Li
Shudong Luo
Huipeng Yang
Tingting Jin
Jiaxing Huang
Jie Wu
author_facet Tolera Kumsa Gemeda
Jilian Li
Shudong Luo
Huipeng Yang
Tingting Jin
Jiaxing Huang
Jie Wu
author_sort Tolera Kumsa Gemeda
collection DOAJ
description Pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) is characterized by being self-incompatible and dependent on cross-pollination to set fruit. Honeybee (Apis mellifera) is considered the most important pollinator of pear. Nevertheless, limited pollen transfer has been cited as the main cause of poor fruit set in many pear orchards. Here, we tested the following hypotheses: (i) colony manipulations increase the pollen collection tendency of honeybees and (ii) the proportion of pollen loads being returned to the hive is from the target plant. The technique reliably and rapidly estimates the pollination of honeybees tested under different colony manipulations: (1) using pollen trapping (PT); (2) PT with sugar syrup feeding (SS) (PTSS); (3) SS alone and (4) control without PT and SS. The results clearly show that the pollen collection of honeybees during the experiment was significantly affected (P < 0.05) by colony manipulations. The mean amount of pollen harvested daily was higher for PTSS (19.4 g) and PT (16.4 g) than for SS (12.85 g) and control (8.7 g) colonies. Therefore, PTSS was the most effective treatment for increasing pear pollen collection; other treatments such as PT and SS could also be useful. This study was important for determining how the behavior of honeybee colonies is shaped through colony manipulation to enhance pollen collection of less preferred pear flowers, which is critical when pollination is required.
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spelling doaj.art-3e564aa00e2d41c1889132379726590c2022-12-22T03:04:42ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-01139e020364810.1371/journal.pone.0203648Pollen trapping and sugar syrup feeding of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enhance pollen collection of less preferred flowers.Tolera Kumsa GemedaJilian LiShudong LuoHuipeng YangTingting JinJiaxing HuangJie WuPear (Pyrus bretschneideri) is characterized by being self-incompatible and dependent on cross-pollination to set fruit. Honeybee (Apis mellifera) is considered the most important pollinator of pear. Nevertheless, limited pollen transfer has been cited as the main cause of poor fruit set in many pear orchards. Here, we tested the following hypotheses: (i) colony manipulations increase the pollen collection tendency of honeybees and (ii) the proportion of pollen loads being returned to the hive is from the target plant. The technique reliably and rapidly estimates the pollination of honeybees tested under different colony manipulations: (1) using pollen trapping (PT); (2) PT with sugar syrup feeding (SS) (PTSS); (3) SS alone and (4) control without PT and SS. The results clearly show that the pollen collection of honeybees during the experiment was significantly affected (P < 0.05) by colony manipulations. The mean amount of pollen harvested daily was higher for PTSS (19.4 g) and PT (16.4 g) than for SS (12.85 g) and control (8.7 g) colonies. Therefore, PTSS was the most effective treatment for increasing pear pollen collection; other treatments such as PT and SS could also be useful. This study was important for determining how the behavior of honeybee colonies is shaped through colony manipulation to enhance pollen collection of less preferred pear flowers, which is critical when pollination is required.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6135515?pdf=render
spellingShingle Tolera Kumsa Gemeda
Jilian Li
Shudong Luo
Huipeng Yang
Tingting Jin
Jiaxing Huang
Jie Wu
Pollen trapping and sugar syrup feeding of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enhance pollen collection of less preferred flowers.
PLoS ONE
title Pollen trapping and sugar syrup feeding of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enhance pollen collection of less preferred flowers.
title_full Pollen trapping and sugar syrup feeding of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enhance pollen collection of less preferred flowers.
title_fullStr Pollen trapping and sugar syrup feeding of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enhance pollen collection of less preferred flowers.
title_full_unstemmed Pollen trapping and sugar syrup feeding of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enhance pollen collection of less preferred flowers.
title_short Pollen trapping and sugar syrup feeding of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) enhance pollen collection of less preferred flowers.
title_sort pollen trapping and sugar syrup feeding of honey bee hymenoptera apidae enhance pollen collection of less preferred flowers
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6135515?pdf=render
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