SUMMARYA study of insect pollinators and their impact on canola yield was conducted during the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 growing seasons. The study was carried out at an experimental farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia. The results revealed that 21 species of insect pollinators belonging to 14 families under four orders visited canola flowers. The abundance of Hymenoptera insects reached the maximum of 67.90%, followed by Diptera 14.97%, Coleoptera 13.61%, then Lepidoptera 2.26% as average of both seasons. In open pollination, Colletes lacunatus had the maximum percent abundance in the two seasons (30.45 and 29.34%, respectively) followed by Apis mellifera (12.34 and 17.73%, respectively), compared to other bees and different pollinators. Peaks of foraging activity of both C. lacunatus and A. mellifera were mainly observed from 1:00 to 3:00 pm and they corresponded to the number of flowering plants. Open pollination increased the number of pods per plant, seeds per pod, weight of 1000 seeds, yield per plant, yield per feddan (1 fed = 0.42 ha) and seed germination, compared to non-open pollination.
In the laboratory, a commercial neem-based insecticide-Nimbecidine ® -was evaluated as a potential pest management tool for the terrestrial snail, Monacha obstructa (PfeiVer, 1842) (Hygromiidae). EVects of diVerent concentrations of the botanical insecticide on food consumption and egg hatchability of the terrestrial snail were studied. Generally, food consumption of immature and adult snails decreased as the concentrations of Nimbecidine ® increased. At the highest concentration (10 ml/l), the snails avoided contacting with food completely. The food intake of immature individuals was signiWcantly (p < 0.05) more aVected by the Nimbecidine ® treatment (at 1.25 ml/l) than that of adults. LC 50 of Nimbecidine ® for the treated eggs was 2.18 ml/l, and eggs failed to hatch at concentration of 10 ml/l. Nimbecidine ® showed suYcient biological activity against the food consumption and eggs viability of M. obstructa, thus the preparation has a potential to protect Weld crops from this pest snails.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.