<i>Phacelia tanacetifolia</i>can enhance conservation of honey bees and wild bees in the drastic hot-arid subtropical Central Arabia

Owayss, Ayman A.; Shebl, Mohamed A.; Iqbal, Javaid; Awad, Awad M.; Raweh, Hael S.; Alqarni, Abdulaziz S.

doi:10.1080/00218839.2020.1735731

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…She also recorded that lacy phacelia pollen constituted just a small fraction of the pollen collected by honeybees. Similar results were obtained by Sprague and colleagues [15] in New Zealand as they also found less pollen-than nectar-foragers in the field and by Owayss and colleagues [16] who indicated lacy phacelia as a good source for honey production in the drought environments of Saudi Arabia.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…In this work we provide a set of data to better understand the interest that P. tanacetifolia raises in Apis mellifera and other pollinators. This interest is currently positively received by beekeepers who foster the sowing of the flower crop to sustain honey production [15,16,27]. Positive feedback also came from the community at large, interested in increasing resources for wild pollinators by planting floral strips: lacy phacelia seeds are therefore part of mixtures used for this purpose, with an added value of the pleasure given by the view of their intense coloured flowers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of Flowering Characteristics, Local Environment, and Daily Temperature on the Visits Paid by Apis mellifera to the Exotic Crop Phacelia tanacetifolia

et al. 2022

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The opportunity to introduce Phacelia tanacetifolia is still being debated, even if the species is already employed, as it is often sown in rotational set-aside schemes or to support pollinators. Therefore, we need further evidence on its effects on the environment and its attractiveness towards pollinators. This work aims at confirming its appeal towards the honeybee in a mixed agricultural and urban environment in the north of Italy, during late spring and early autumn flowering. We assessed flowering characteristics and honeybee visitation rates by employing observational plots; we recorded resource preferences and behaviours by focal observations and video records; finally, we annotated other flower visitors. Each plant is characterised by one or more flowering stems on which not all flowers open at the same time: an increased number of flowers is, therefore, due to an increase in the number of available flowering stems. Honeybees were highly interested in lacy phacelia resources, especially in nectar collection: pollen collection may not be sufficiently rewarding for bees to dedicate time to it. The only correlation we found was between visitation rates and temperature. Other insects were recorded visiting the flowers: these were especially Hymenoptera; Coleoptera and Lepidoptera were also abundant, while relatively few individuals of Hemiptera and Diptera were recorded. Our results indicate that the mass-flowering of the species is certainly of interest to local pollinators and can be considered to counteract their decline when sown as a single species or in flower mixtures. However, further studies are needed to assess the competition of this plant with native species and its ability to self-regenerate when not purposely planted.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Flowering Characteristics, Local Environment, and Daily Temperature on the Visits Paid by Apis mellifera to the Exotic Crop Phacelia tanacetifolia

et al. 2022

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“…It is among the world's top twenty melliferous plants, providing monofloral honey with excellent quality for human consumption [2][3][4]. It also supports wild pollinators and some biological control agents with pollen and nectar [5][6][7][8][9]. As a cover crop and green manure, it is beneficial for soil structure [10] and soil microorganisms [11]; nevertheless, its effect for weed infestation has been assessed with different outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weed Composition in Hungarian Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) Seed Production: Could Tine Harrow Take over Chemical Management?

et al. 2022

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Phacelia tanacetifolia, an excellent cover, green manure and honey crop is now widely cultivated throughout the world. One of its principal European seed production regions is north-western Hungary, where the recent withdrawal of a potent herbicide, linuron, created a new challenge for many growers. The goal of this study is to identify the main factors determining weed species composition in the phacelia fields of the region and to assess the efficiency of tine harrow and clopyralid herbicide in reducing weed abundance and biomass. We carried out a series of weed surveys across the study region following a two-level design: (i) we estimated the cover of all weed species in 205 fields (broad-scale survey, BS); and (ii) in 22 of these fields, we provided more precise biomass measurements (counting the individuals and measuring the dry weights of all weed species) in microplots samples (fine-scale survey; FS). To characterize the fields, 34 background variables were also collected for all of the studied fields. In both investigations, Chenopodium album was by far the most abundant weed. Within the BS, using a minimal adequate model containing 11 terms with significant net effects, 20.93% of the total variation in weed species data could be explained. The variation in species composition was determined by environmental factors (soil pH, clay and K; precipitation and temperature), non-chemical management variables (crop cover, preceding crop, irrigation and tillage system) and herbicides (linuron and clopyralid). Variation partitioning demonstrated the dominance of environmental and cultural components in shaping the weed species composition. Although the effect of mechanical treatments was most likely masked in the BS by the soil properties, our FS suggests that tine harrow could efficiently decrease the total number and biomass of weeds and can be a useful tool in the phacelia management of the future.

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“…Phacelia tanacetifolia (Phacelia) is a widely used food plant in the beekeeping and conservation of pollinators. 18 species of bees visiting P. tanacetifolia were recorded in Saudi Arabia, at the top with the highest recorded species, A. mellifera was the most common honey bee species (Owayss et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bees visiting the broad bean (Vicia faba L.) and the impact of border planting on their abundance and the yield improvement in Ismailia, Egypt

M. Mohamed,

M. Ghareb,

M. Kamel

et al. 2023

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Incorporating flowering plants into cropping systems has the potential to actively enhance pollination and crops yields. This study evaluated whether the introduction of border planting affects bee visitation and yield of a broad bean (Vicia faba L.). Experiments were carried out in 2018 and 2019 in Ismailia, Egypt. Bee visitation and broad bean yields were compared between plots with and without border planting. Results showed that open flowers achieved higher yields than netted flowers. Apis mellifera L. was the dominant visitor, followed by four solitary bee species, Chalicodoma siculum (Rossi), Colletes lacunatus Dours, 1872, Andrena ovatula and Xylocopa pubescens (Kirby, 1802). The addition of border planting was associated with a significant increase in the abundance of all five bee visitors and the associated yields. Findings showed that flowering border plants adjacent to broad bean can actively enhance pollination services and yields of this commercially valuable crop, whilst helping to conserve vulnerable bee populations.

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Phacelia tanacetifoliacan enhance conservation of honey bees and wild bees in the drastic hot-arid subtropical Central Arabia

Cited by 9 publications

References 53 publications

Influence of Flowering Characteristics, Local Environment, and Daily Temperature on the Visits Paid by Apis mellifera to the Exotic Crop Phacelia tanacetifolia

Influence of Flowering Characteristics, Local Environment, and Daily Temperature on the Visits Paid by Apis mellifera to the Exotic Crop Phacelia tanacetifolia

Weed Composition in Hungarian Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) Seed Production: Could Tine Harrow Take over Chemical Management?

Bees visiting the broad bean (Vicia faba L.) and the impact of border planting on their abundance and the yield improvement in Ismailia, Egypt

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