Journal
APIDOLOGIE
Volume 52, Issue 4, Pages 860-872Publisher
SPRINGER FRANCE
DOI: 10.1007/s13592-021-00872-8
Keywords
Apis mellifera; Prunus dulcis; foraging behaviour; floral constancy; pollen limitation
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This study examined the foraging behavior of honey bees in different almond cultivars and found that different cultivars have different effects on bee behavior. 'Independence' cultivar is more likely to promote cross-pollination, while 'Nonpareil' cultivar requires higher visitation rates to increase yield.
Although Apis mellifera is the dominant managed pollinator used to enhance crop production, the variation of its foraging behaviour among crop-cultivars is not considered as a factor influencing pollination success and, thus, yield. Almond production is highly dependent on cross-pollination. Herein, we examined honey bees foraging behaviour and pollen limitation in 'Nonpareil' and 'Independence' cultivars. Nectar and pollen-foragers differed in the flower handling behaviour, regardless of the cultivar. However, most bees on 'Independence' flowers collected pollen in the morning and bees exhibited less floral constancy in this cultivar, potentially promoting cross-pollination. Also, supplementation of 'Nonpareil' flowers with 'Independence' pollen had a positive effect in nut-set, suggesting that higher visitation rates are needed to increase yield. Our study underlines the importance of integrating behavioural knowledge of pollinators to optimize practices in pollinator-dependent crops.
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