The Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) Is an Efficient Pollinator for Paeonia lactiflora Pall in the Field

The herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) has high ornamental and nutritional value, and the seeds of P. lactiflora can be used to produce high-quality edible oil. However, low seed yield limits the application of P. lactiflora. This can be mitigated by insect pollinators. Here, we evaluated the pollination services of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) in a P. lactiflora field. We found that A. mellifera provided pollination for P. lactiflora throughout the day especially in the period from 10:00-15:00. Seed number and weight were significantly increased when P. lactiflora was pollinated by A. mellifera. Furthermore, a DNA barcode, the rbcL gene, was used to analyze pollen samples from the corbiculae (pollen baskets) of A. mellifera (bee pollen, BP) and P. lactiflora flowers (flower pollen, FP). High homology of rbcL genes in the BP and FP suggested that BP was collected from P. lactiflora. Based on our results, A. mellifera provided efficient pollination for P. lactiflora. Therefore, A. mellifera could be a good candidate pollinator for P. lactiflora and could be applied in the field.

Automated summary

The herbaceous peony has high value as an ornamental and nutritional plant, and its seeds can be used to produce high-quality edible oil. However, the yield of peony seeds is limited, which can be improved by insect pollinators. In this study, we evaluated the pollination services of honeybees in a peony field and found that honeybees provided effective pollination for peonies, resulting in increased seed number and weight. DNA analysis showed that the pollen collected by honeybees was from peony flowers. These findings suggest that honeybees could be a suitable pollinator for peonies and can be applied in cultivation.