##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##

Vikas Bharti Dilbag Singh Ahlawat Surender Kumar Sharma Naveen Vikram Singh Jitender Jitender Nachhatar Singh

Abstract

Biodiversity of insect pollinators on fennel cv. HF-143 (Foeniculum vulgare Miller), was studied in Hisar, Haryana, India. Twenty-five insect species belonging to fifteen families of five orders were recorded from fennel flowers, in which, seven belong to order Lepidoptera, nine to Hymenoptera, five to Diptera, three to Coleoptera and one to Odonata. Among the insect pollinators, Apis florea F., A. cerana indica F., A. mellifera L. and A. dorsata F. were the most frequent visitors. Among different bee species, the maximum mean population observed in case of A. florea (9.23 bees/m2/5 min) followed by A. mellifera (3.62 bees/m2/5 min) and A. dorsata (3.21 bees/m2/5 min), whereas, the least abundance was observed in case of A. cerana indica, i.e., 1.82 bees/m2/5 min. The pollination index of A. dorsata was highest (19715210) followed by A. florea (13888381), A. mellifera (13845052) and A. cerana (5586381). Hence, it was observed that A. dorsata was the most efficient pollinator followed by A. florea, A. mellifera and A. cerana on fennel cv. HF-143 flowers under agro ecological conditions of Hisar (Haryana). Hence, insect pollinators were essential to get good returns in this seed crop. The activity of different bee species on fennel varied with different abiotic factors and had significantly positive correlation with bright sun shine hours (BSS) and temperature (TEMP) in different hours of the day during foraging but had negative correlation with relative humidity (RH). It was observed that the effect of wind velocity on foraging of different bee species was not significant. Thus, the impact of abiotic environmental factors may decide the foraging activity of different insect pollinators.

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##

Keywords

Abundance, Abiotic factors, Foraging speed, Foraging rate, Fennel cv. HF-143, Pollination index

References
Baswana, K.S. (1984). Role of insect pollination on seed production in coriander and fennel. South Indian Horti-culture, 32: 117-118.
Buchmann, L.S. and Nabhan, P.G. (1996). The Forgotten Pollinators. Island Press, Washington DC, USA, pp 292.
Chaudhary, O.P. (2006). Diversity, foraging behaviour of floral visitors and pollination ecology of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.). Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops, 15(1): 34-41.
Free, J.B. (1993). Insect Pollination of Crops (2nd edn.). Academic Press, London, UK, 544 p.
Hanh, Tran.Thi.My., Sharma, S.K. and Rana, M.K. (2014). Pollination efficiency of native bee pollinators of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) in India. Journal of Apiculture, 29(3): 199- 205.
Kapil, R.P. and Brar, H.S. (1971). Foraging behaviour of Apis florea F. in relation to Brassica campestris var. toria. In: Proceedings XXII International Apiculture Congress, Moscow, 335p.
Kumar, S. (1990). Studies on insect pollination in ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.). M.Sc. Thesis, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India.
Lengler, S. and Link, D. (1984). Effects of insolation and solar radiation on the flight activity of some races of honeybees . Revista do centro de ciencias rurais, 14(2): 147-151.
Mishra, R.C., Kumar, J. and Gupta, J. K., 1988. The effect of mode of pollination on yield and oil potential of Brassica campestris L. Var. sarson with observations on insect pollinators. Journal of Apicultural Research, 27 (2): 186-189.
Pruthi, J.S. (1976). Spices and Condiments. National Book Trust, New Delhi, India.
Richards, A.J. (1986). Plant Breeding Systems. Chapman and Hall, New York, USA, pp. 135-188.
Sagar, P. (1981). Role of insects in crop pollination of fennel crop at Ludhiana. PAU Journal of Research, 18(4): 88-92.
Sihag, R.C. and Abrol, D.P. (1986). Correlation and pathcoefficient analysis environmental factors influencing flight activity of Apis florea F. Journal of Apicultural Research, 25(4): 202-208.
Sihag, R.C. (1990). Ecology of European honeybee, Apis mellifera L in semi-arid sub-tropical climates. I. Melliferous flora and over- seasoning of the colonies. Korean Journal of Apiculture, 5(1): 31-43.
Tewari, G.N. and Singh, K. (1983). Role of pollinators in vegetable seed production. Indian Bee Journal, 45: 51.
Youngken, H.W.Jr. (1950). Drug plant gardens and apiculture. Iowa State Apiarist Report 1949, pp. 115-122
Section
Research Articles

How to Cite

Diversity, abundance and pollination efficiency of insect pollinators of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Miller) and effect of abiotic factors on insect pollinator activity. (2015). Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 7(2), 786-793. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v7i2.684