POLLINATION BY ERISTALIS-TENAX (DIPTERA, SYRPHIDAE) AND SEED SET OF GREENHOUSE SWEET-PEPPER

To assess the potential of the indigenous syrphid fly Eristalis tenax (L.) as a pollinator of greenhouse sweet pepper. Capsicum annuum L., i n southern Quebec, flowers of the 'Bell Boy' cultivar were submitted t o 1 of the following 3 treatments: (1) no exposure to flies; (2) expos ure to a restricted number of visits by flies; and (3) unrestrained ex posure to flies during floral receptivity. Fruits from both fly-visite d groups produced larger seed sets than those of the nonvisited group. representing an augmentation of 9.2 and 19.3% in the limited and unli mited visitation treatments, respectively. The number of visits per Bo wer did not affect seed setting significantly, but an increase in the total duration of visits resulted in larger seed sets. E. tenax thus p ossesses desirable attributes for the pollination of sweet pepper unde r greenhouse conditions.