Qualitative enhancement of cucumber with bee (Apis cerana) pollination at Nagaland Bui Malar*, Singh H. K., Waluniba, Ao M. Alemla Department of Entomology, SASRD, Nagaland University, Medziphema campus, Medziphema-797106, Nagaland *Email: malar2uads@gmail.com
Online published on 12 June, 2017. Abstract The role of honey bees (Apis cerana L.) pollination in enhancing the quality of cucumber crop was studied during April-June 2013 at the Entomology experimental farm, SASRD, Medziphema, Nagaland. The quality of cucumber vines in treatments caged with and without bees, with attractants (jaggery and sugar solution), and untreated control was evaluated in Randomized Block Design (RBD). The five treatments were replicated four times and named; T1: plot caged with bee, T2: plot caged without bee/control, T3, plot open without attractant, T4: plot open treated with jaggery solution @ 10% and T5: plot open treated with sugar solution @ 10%. It was observed that number of female flowers showed non-significant difference among the treatments. Fruit % was high in plot caged with bee (51.5%) and the least without bee (18.7). Normal fruits/vine were the highest when caged with bee (19.1) as against 5.3 in control. The length and width of the fruits was also more in plots caged with bees. There was no significant difference in the moisture content in fruits. Top Keywords Apis cerana, pollinator, attractants, sugar, jaggery, qualitative, enhancement, cucumber, fruits per vine, female flowers, fruit size. Top |