Impact of the foraging activity of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on increasing yields of Gossypium hirsutum (Malvaceae) in Djoumassi (Garoua, Cameroon)
1 Laboratory of Applied Zoology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Ngaoundéré, P.O.Box 454 Ngaoundéré, Cameroon.
2 Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of Garoua, University of Ngaoundéré, P.O.Box 454 Ngaoundéré, Cameroon.
Research Article
GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2020, 12(01), 255-266.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscbps.2020.12.1.0217
Publication history:
Received on 10 July 2020; revised on 22 July 2020; accepted on 25 July 2020
Abstract:
To evaluate the impact of the foraging behaviour of Apis mellifera in increasing boll and seed yields of Gossypium hirsutum, its pollination activities were studied in Garoua for two seasons, from September through October 2018 and 2019. Observations were made on 540 flowers divided into four treatments of which two were differentiated according to the presence or absence of flower protection regarding insect visits; the third was made of protected and opened flowers, to allow Apis mellifera visits and the fourth made of opened flowers then closed without any visit. The bee’s daily rhythm of activity, their foraging and pollination activities were evaluated. Results showed that, on Gossypium hirsutum flowers, Apis mellifera intensely collected pollen and nectar. Data obtained allow the classification of this Malvaceae as a highly polliniferous and nectariferous bee plant species. Through its pollination efficiency, Apis mellifera has increased the fruiting rate by 29.66% and 13.95%, the mean number of seeds per boll by 24.53% and 14.89% and the percentage of normal seeds by 3.89% and 8.87% in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Hence, the conservation of Apis mellifera colonies close to Gossypium hirsutum fields is recommended to improve its boll and seed yields.
Keywords:
Honeybees; Cotton; Flowers; Pollination efficiency; Yields
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Copyright © 2020 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0
