D. Howpage et al., Influence of honey bee (Apis mellifera) on kiwifruit pollination and fruitquality under Australian conditions, NZ J CROP H, 29(1), 2001, pp. 51-59
Citations number
33
Categorie Soggetti
Agriculture/Agronomy
Journal title
NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF CROP AND HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE
The influence of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) pollination of kiwifruit (Ac
tinidia deliciosa (A.Chev.) C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson) under different po
llination regimes (viz. honey bee supplementation, honey bee saturation in
a cage with a single male cultivar, and honey bee exclusion) was investigat
ed under Australian conditions during 1993/94 and 1995/96 seasons. Vines th
at had no access to honey bees had significantly (P less than or equal to0.
01) lower fruit set (24%) compared to honey bee supplementation (91%) and b
ee saturation (89%). The mean yield (kg/vine) and the mean number of fruit/
vine in bee-supplemented and bee-saturated treatments did not differ signif
icantly, although vines that were excluded from honey bees produced signifi
cantly (P less than or equal to0.01) lower yields. However, individual frui
t weight in the bee-saturated treatments was affected. There were significa
ntly more small fruit in bee-saturated vines than in vines that were supple
mentary pollinated by honey bees. Bee activity as assessed by the number of
bee visits on flowers (bees/vine per min) was significantly higher on male
vines than female vines during the first 2 weeks of the flowering period.
Honey bees were the main contributor to pollination and fruit set, although
low numbers of other potential insect pollinators such as ladybird beetles
and hover flies were also observed. The mean seed numbers in comparable fr
uit from higher weight groupings (i.e., 70-89, 90-109, and greater than or
equal to 110 g) in bee-supplemented and bee-saturated vines did not differ
significantly, suggesting adequate pollination and fertilisation of ovules
in these two treatments. Vines that were caged with a single male cultivar
produced fruit with significantly higher (P less than or equal to0.01) tota
l soluble solids concentration than did those that were honey bee supplemen
ted. Possible reasons for the reduced mean fruit weight under honey bee sat
uration are discussed.