Evaluation of Different Bee Attractants for Apis florea and Their Effect on Seed Yield of Niger [Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass]
Dwarka
Department of Entomology, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, College of Agriculture, Panna, Madhya Pradesh- 488001, India.
S.G. Ghugal
Department of Entomology, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, College of Agriculture, Powarkheda, Narmadapuram, Madhya Pradesh, 461110, India.
Shobhara Thakur
AICRP, PC Unit Sesame Crop, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, CoA, Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh- 472001, India.
Anand Kumar Panday
Department of Entomology, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, College of Agriculture, Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh- 262701, India.
Nisha Chadar *
Department of Botany, MCBU, Post Graduate Excellence College, Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh, 472001, India.
Sanjay Kumar Tripathi
Department of Crop Physiology, College of Agriculture, Lakhimpur Kheri Campus, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, College of Agriculture, Uttar Pradesh- 262701, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
An experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2022 at the experimental farm of the PC Unit S & N, College of Agriculture, JNKVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, to investigate the impact of various bee attractants on the visitation rate of Apis florea and their subsequent influence on the seed yield of niger crops. The study employed a randomized block design comprising nine treatments with three replications. The results indicated that the greatest number of Apis florea visitors was observed at both the 10% and 50% flowering stages with the application of the 10% flower extract of Madhuca longifolia (14.67 bees/m²/5 min) and the 10% fruit extract of Phoenix dactylifera (14.00 bees/m²/5 min), respectively. These mixtures were followed by 10% rose water solution (13.75 bees/m²/5 min) and 10% sugar solution (13.67 bees/m²/5 min). In the control plots, bee visitation was lower, at 5.00 and 3.50 bees/m²/5 min during the 10% and 50% flowering stages, respectively. The water spray treatments resulted in slightly greater visitation than did the control, with 7.33 and 4.75 bees/m²/5 min. Notably, foliar sprays of Madhuca longifolia flower extract, rose water and Phoenix dactylifera fruit extract at 10% concentrations led to significantly greater seed yields, producing 6.96 q/ha, 6.42 q/ha and 6.90 q/ha respectively, than did the other treatments.
Keywords: Foliar spray, Apis florea, significantly superior, fruit extract of Phoenix dactylifera and 10% and 50% flowering stages