Impact of the foraging activity of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on increasing yields of Gossypium hirsutum (Malvaceae) in Djoumassi (Garoua, Cameroon)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30574/gscbps.2020.12.1.0217Keywords:
Honeybees, Cotton, Flowers, Pollination efficiency, YieldsAbstract
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.
Metrics
References
Clare EA, Christina TL, Ben G, Kimberly H and Walter T. (2016). The Role of Honey Bees as Pollinators in Natural Areas. Natural Areas Journal, 36(4), 478-488.
Stanley DA, Msweli SM and Johnson SD. (2020). Native honeybees as flower visitors and pollinators in wild plant communities in a biodiversity hotspot. Ecosphere, 11(2).
Bretagnolle V and Gaba S. (2015). Weeds for bees? A review. Agronomy Sustainable Development, 35, 891-909.
Kleijn D, Winfree R, Bartomeus D, Carvalheiro LG, Bommarco R, Scheper J, Tscharntke T, Verhulst J and Potts SG. (2015). Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation. Nature Communications, 6(7414), 1-8.
Mazi S, Tchuenguem FFN and Brückner D. (2013). Foraging and pollination behaviour of Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Gossypium hirsutum (Malvaceae) flowers at Dang (Ngaoundéré, Cameroon). Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 3, 267-280.
Basga E, Fameni TS, Otiobo ENA and Tchuenguem FFN. (2019). Efficacité pollinisatrice de Apis mellifera Linné (Hymenoptera: Apidae) sur les fleurs de Gossypium hirsutum (Malvaceae) à Djamboutou (Garoua, Cameroun). Journal of Applied Biosciences, 138, 14123-14136.
Philippe JM. (1991). La pollinisation par les abeilles: pose des colonies dans la culture en floraison en vue d’accroître les rendements des productions végétales. EDISUD, la calade Aix-en-Provence, 179.
Mc Gregor SE. (1976). Insect pollination of cultivated crop plants. Agric. Res. Serv. USDA, Agric. Handb., 496, 411.
Ter Avanesian DV. (1978). The effect of warying the number of pollen grains used in fertilization. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 52, 77-79.
Moffett JO. (1983). Pollination of Entomophilous hybrid seed parents hybrid Cotton. Chapter 8. In: Jones CE, Little RJ (Eds), Handbook of experimental pollination biology. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 508-514.
Chee W, Draye X, Jiang CX, Decanini L, Delmonte TA, Bredhauer R, Smith CW and Paterson AH. (2005). Molecular dissection of phenotypic variation between Gossypium hirsitum and Gossypium barbadense (cotton) by a backcrosss-self approach: III. Fiber lenght. Theor. Appl. Genec, 111, 772-781.
Dounia and Tchuenguem FFN. (2013). Foraging and pollination activity of Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on flowers of Gossypium hirsutum L. (Malvaceae) at Maroua, Cameroon. International Research Journal of Plant Science, 4(2), 33-44.
Thomson NJ. (1966). Cotton variety trials in the ord valley, Northwester Australia: 4 natural crossing of cotton. Empire cotton Growing Review, 43, 18-21.
Mungomery JE and Glassop AJ. (1969). Natural cross-pollination of cotton in Central Queensland. Queenland journal of agriculture and Animal Sciences, 26, 69-74.
Llewellyn D and Fitt G. (1996). Pollen dispersal from two field trials of transgenic cotton in th Namoi valley, Australia. Molecular Breeding, 2, 157-166.
Pires CSS, Silveira FA, Cardoso CF, Sujii ER, Paula DP, Fontes EMG, Padilha da Silva J, Rodrigues SMM and Andow DA. (2014). Election of bee species for environmental risk assessment of GM cotton in the Brazilian Cerrado. Pesq. agropec. Bras., 49(8), 573-586.
Tchuenguem FFN. (2005). Foraging and pollination behaviour of Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae Apinae) on the flowers of three plants in Ngaoundéré (Cameroon): Callistemon rigidus (Myrtaceae), Syzygium guineense var. macrocarpum (Myrtaceae) and Voacanga africana (Apocynaceae). State Doctorate Thesis, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroun, 103.
Donfack P. (1998). Fallow vegetation in Northern - Cameroon: Typology, Diversity, Dynamic, Production. Postgraduate Doctorate Thesis, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon, 118.
MINEPAT. (2014). Rapport sur le développement économique du Cameroun (RADEC). Région du Nord, 180.
Hieng IO. (2009). Etude des paramètres géotechniques des sols du Cameroun. Clé (Eds), Yaoundé-Cameroun, 147.
Tchuenguem FFN, Messi J and Pauly A. (2001). Meliponula erythra activity on Dacryodes edulis flowers and its impact on fructification. Fruits, 56, 179-188.
Adamou M, Mazi S, Yatahaï CM and Tchuenguem FFN. (2019). Impact of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in increasing fruit and seed yields of Waltheria indica (Malvaceae) at Dang (Ngaoundéré, Cameroon). Agricultural Science Research Journal, 9(9), 140-150.
Jacob-Remacle A. (1989). Foraging behavior of domestic and wild bees within the apple ochards in Belgium. Apidologie, 20(4), 271-285.
Tchuenguem FFN, Messi J, Brückner D, Bouba B, Mbofung G and Hencthoya HJ. (2004). Foraging and pollination behaviour of the African honey bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) on Callistemon rigidus flowers at Ngaoundéré (Cameroon). J. of the Cam. Ac. of Sci, 4, 133-140.
Diguir BB, Pando JB, Fameni TS and Tchuenguem FFN. (2020). Pollination efficiency of Dactylurina Staudinger (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Vernonia amygdalina (Asteraceae) florets at Dang (Ngaoundéré, Cameroon). International Journal of Research Studies in Agricultural Sciences, 6(2), 22-31.
Louveaux J. (1984). Domestic bee and its relations to cultivated plants. In: ‘’Pollination and plant productions’’, Pesson P & Louveaux J (Eds), INRA, Paris, 527-555.
Free JB. (1970). The effect of flower shapes and nectar guides on the behaviour of foraging honeybees. Behaviour, 37:269-285
Frisch KV. (1967). The dance language and orientation of bees. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 566.
Basualdo M, Bedascarrasbure E and De Jong D. (2000). Africanized honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) have a greater fidelity to sunflowers than European honey bees. Journal of Economic Entomology, 93(2), 304-307.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.