Effects of Pollination by the Indo-Malaya Stingless Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on the Quality of Greenhouse-Produced Rockmelon.
J Econ Entomol
; 112(1): 20-24, 2019 02 12.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30277528
ABSTRACT
Rockmelon (Cucumis melo Linnaeus (Cucurbitales Cucurbitaceae)) is a novel commercialized fruit in Malaysia and has great potential to become an important horticultural crop for the international market. In this study, we investigated the effects of pollination by the Indo-Malaya stingless bee Heterotrigona itama Smith (Hymenoptera Apidae) on measures of yield and quality of rockmelon cultivated in the greenhouse, compared with hand cross-pollination and self-pollination. Results showed that rockmelon produced from plants pollinated by stingless bees and hand cross-pollination had higher fruit set, were heavier and larger, and contained higher numbers of seed per fruit compared with those produced by self-pollination. Pollination by stingless bees produced fruit with greater sweetness than either hand cross-pollination or self-pollination. This study demonstrated that stingless bee pollination produced rockmelon fruit of similar quality, but better yields compared to the other pollination treatments. We showed that stingless bees should be considered as an alternative, effective pollinator for the improved production of high quality rockmelon in commercial greenhouse cultivation.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Abejas
/
Cucumis melo
/
Polinización
/
Frutas
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Econ Entomol
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Malasia