Abstract:
The fruit set rate and yield of pear are commonly
low due to insufficient pollination, as
the species is unattractive to honeybees. To improv
e honeybee foraging behavior for the
pollination of Dangshan pear (
Pyrus bretschneideri
cv.
dangshansuli
), nine methods were
used to attract bees. A control treatment of coloni
es was fed with normal sugar syrup,
while six other treatments were fed using sugar syr
up mixed with Pear syrup, Gallic acid,
Arginine (Arg), Lysine (Lys), Methionine (Met), or
8-Br-cGMP; plates containing
Juvenile Hormone analog ZR-512, Brood Pheromone (BP
), and Queen Mandibular Gland
Pheromone (QMP) were placed inside the hives of ano
ther three treatments. Pollination
efficacy was compared using the pollen load weight
and quantity of foraging bees. The
peak time of pear pollen gathering was 10:00–11:00
regardless of treatment. The pear
pollen load weight per day was increased by all nin
e treatments. Pear pollen load weight
per day was 49.11 g in the control. The QMP treatme
nt yielded the heaviest pear pollen
load weight per day (77.56 g), followed by the 8-Br
-cGMP (64.45 g) and BP treatments
(64.20 g). The percentages of pear pollen weight an
d quantity in the total pollen per day
were both highest in the BP treatment (80.23%
, 87.27%
), followed by those in the QMP
(79.32%
, 86.74%) and Lys treatments (76.25%
, 85.81%
). In conclusion, BP was the most
effective treatment for improving honeybee pollinat
ion behavior in the pear orchard,
while other treatments, including Arg, Lys, 8-Br-cG
MP, ZR-512, and QMP, could also be
useful.
Keywords:
Apis mellifera ligustica
Spin., Inducer, Pollen quantity, Pollen weight, P
ear
pollination
