Effect of stingless bee (Tetragonula iridipennis) pollination on onion seed yield in Rabi and Kharif seasons

B SaaiVignesh; J Jayaraj; R Nalini; K Kumutha; M R Srinivasan; M Jayakanthan; K Suresh

doi:10.14719/pst.6032

Authors

B SaaiVignesh Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai 625 104, Tamil Nadu, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7893-2612
J Jayaraj Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai 625 104, Tamil Nadu, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7919-4917
R Nalini Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai 625 104, Tamil Nadu, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5161-792X
K Kumutha Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai 625 104, Tamil Nadu, India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2529-532X
M R Srinivasan Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641003, Tamil Nadu, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5922-8208
M Jayakanthan Department of Bioinformatics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7444-9343
K Suresh Department of Agricultural Entomology, ICAR-KVK, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai 625 104, Tamil Nadu, India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0311-0283

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.6032

Keywords:

foraging activity, onion seed yield, pollination, stingless bee, weather factors

Abstract

The present study on stingless bee was carried out during Rabi and Kharif of 2022-2023 in farmers field at Oddanchatram, Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu to evaluate their efficiency in pollinating onion, cultivated for seed purpose. Two fields (10 km apart) were used, one with stingless bees (2 colonies/acre) and one without. Foraging activity was monitored every 4 days over 36 days and onion seed yield and germination were compared between open pollination and covered umbels. During Rabi, peak foraging activity occurred from 1100 to 1200 h with 23.6 outgoing bees/5min/h. Pollen and nectar foragers peaked between 1200 and 0100 h with means of 6.5 and 20.1 bees/5min/h, while resin foragers showed peaks at 1200-0100 and 0500-0600 h. Managed pollination yielded 165 kg/acre with 88% germination compared to 120 kg/acre and 77% without bees. In Kharif, similar peaks were observed, with pollen, nectar and resin foragers averaging 4.3, 19.4 and 2.0 bees/5min/h, respectively. Seed yield was 150 kg/acre with stingless bee pollination versus 110 kg/acre without bees, with germination rates of 86% and 74%. Stingless bee pollination improved onion seed yield by 37.5% in Rabi and 36% in Kharif, demonstrating their significant role in boosting crop productivity. Future studies should explore the long-term impacts of stingless bee pollination on crop yields and biodiversity.

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