Insect Pollination Increases Seed Production in Cruciferous and Umbelliferous Crops

Sihag, R. C.

doi:10.1080/00218839.1986.11100704

Cited by 53 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The giant honeybee has been reported as an important wild pollinator of both wild and crop plants [8]. Mann and Singh [9] and Sihag [10][11][12] also reported this honeybee as a promising pollinator of some horticultural and field crops of India. Recent reports reveal that both abundance and diversity of wild bees are now declining and some species are clearly at risk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two species of Asiatic honeybees (namely, the dwarf honeybee, Apis florea F. and the giant honeybee, Apis dorsata F.) are among such pollinators. These honeybees make the natural pollinators of many locally grown crops [9][10][11][12]19] and are bioresource of honey too. Apis florea makes small nest (comb) and gathers small quantity of honey as compared to Apis dorsata; the latter honeybee makes very large nest and gathers 8-10 times more honey than the former [1,12,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Phenology of Migration and Decline in Colony Numbers and Crop Hosts of Giant Honeybee (Apis dorsataF.) in Semiarid Environment of Northwest India

Sihag

2014

Journal of Insects

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The colonies of the giant honeybee (Apis dorsata) immigrate in the semiarid environment of Northwest India in October-November with the onset of flowering on pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan)/toria (Brassica campestrisvar. toria), stay here during the rich pollen and nectar flow period from December to mid-May, and emigrate in late May/early June when floral dearth is witnessed. This honeybee was free from any conspicuous viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases and also did not have any serious predators and enemies. However, about 20 percent of the old colonies were infested withTropilaelaps clareaeand 100 percent of the old colonies withGalleria mellonella; none of the swarm colonies had these pests. While the migration schedule of this honeybee remained similar year after year, the number of colonies immigrating in this region declined markedly over the years; the number in 2012 was even less than half of that recorded in 1984. During its stay in this region, this honeybee acted as an important pollinator of more than 30 crop plants of this region. The causes of seasonal migration and decline in the number of colonies of this honeybee and its importance in crop pollination have been discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenology of Migration and Decline in Colony Numbers and Crop Hosts of Giant Honeybee (Apis dorsataF.) in Semiarid Environment of Northwest India

Sihag

2014

Journal of Insects

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“…Lagre number of insects visit cauliflower bloom for nectar and pollen Kakar, 1980). The insect visits produce more number of seeds per pod and weight of seed is greater as compared to selfed plants (Sihag, 1986;. Pod setting, number of seeds per pod and seed weight were increased by bee pollination (Verma and Joshi, 1983;Tewari and Singh, 1983).…”

Section: Pollination Of Cropsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Brassica juncea (L.) and Sinapis alba L. the stigma of the flower projects from the bud before opening and it is receptive. Wind is an important cross-pollination agent but of primary importance are insects and benefits of bee pollination have been reported for increasing crop yeilds (Sihag, 1986). B. campestris L. is largely dependant on insects for pollination.…”

Section: Pollination Of Cropsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honeybees and their management in India /

Mishra¹

2013

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“…Across all the taxa recorded as flower visitors of Brassica crops, Bombus spp. and Apis mellifera are considered key visitors in most regions of the world (Sihag 1986; Singh and Singh 1992; Williams 1997), and are typically considered to control the maximum rate of pollination (Hayter and Cresswell 2006). Therefore, variation in the abundance of social bees visiting flowers, either spatially or seasonally, might be expected to have a dominant influence on gene flow and cross-pollination within and among crop fields (DeGrandi-Hoffman et al 1992; Firbank et al 2003; Hayter and Cresswell 2006; Sahli and Conner 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the Relative Abundance and Movement of Insect Pollinators During the Flowering Cycle ofBrassica rapaCrops: Implications for Gene Flow

Mesa

Howlett

Grant

et al. 2013

Journal of Insect Science

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The potential movement of transgenes from genetically modified crops to non-genetically modified crops via insect-mediated pollen dispersal has been highlighted as one of the areas of greatest concern in regards to genetically modified crops. Pollen movement depends sensitively on spatial and temporal variation in the movement of insect pollinators between crop fields. This study tested the degree of variation in the diversity and relative abundance of flower-visiting insects entering versus leaving pak choi, Brassica rapa var. chinensis L. (Brassicales: Brassicaceae), crops throughout different stages of the flowering cycle. The relative abundance of flower-visiting insects varied significantly with Brassica crop phenology. Greater numbers of flower-visiting insects were captured inside rather than outside the crop fields, with the highest capture rates of flower-visitors coinciding with the peak of flowering in both spring-flowering and summer-flowering crops. Moreover, the ratio of flower-visiting insects entering versus leaving crop fields also varied considerably with changing crop phenology. Despite high variation in relative capture rates, the data strongly indicate non-random patterns of variation in insect movement in relation to crop phenology, with early-season aggregation of flower-visiting insects entering and remaining in the crop, and then mass emigration of flower-visiting insects leaving the crop late in the flowering season. Although pollen movement late in the flowering cycle might contribute relatively little to total seed set (and hence crop production), the findings here suggest that extensive late-season pollinator redistribution in the landscape could contribute disproportionately to long-distance gene movement between crops.

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Insect Pollination Increases Seed Production in Cruciferous and Umbelliferous Crops

Cited by 53 publications

References 6 publications

Phenology of Migration and Decline in Colony Numbers and Crop Hosts of Giant Honeybee (Apis dorsataF.) in Semiarid Environment of Northwest India

Phenology of Migration and Decline in Colony Numbers and Crop Hosts of Giant Honeybee (Apis dorsataF.) in Semiarid Environment of Northwest India

Honeybees and their management in India /

Changes in the Relative Abundance and Movement of Insect Pollinators During the Flowering Cycle ofBrassica rapaCrops: Implications for Gene Flow

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