ISHS Acta Horticulturae 288: VI International Symposium on Pollination
USE OF BUMBLEBEES FOR THE POLLINATION OF GLASSHOUSE TOMATOES |
| Authors: | W. van Ravestijn, J. van der Sande |
| Abstract:
For the purpose of pollination, in 1989 bumblebees were placed in glasshouse crops of beefsteak (Venlo) and round tomatoes (Naaldwijk), two early heated crops on rockwool and one air heated crop in soil. Without bumblebees vibrating is necessary to obtain good fruit set and yield, but with the use of bumblebees vibrating makes no difference in setting percentage and yield. Using bumblebees and omitting vibrating increases the risk of kinked trusses, especially for beefsteak tomato. The average and modal buzzing period per flower are respectively 3.7 and 2.0 seconds. For visiting one flower during flight on average 7.6 s is necessary. During flowering the rate of pollination can be determined by way of 'damages' (brown discolorations) on the stamina caused by the bumblebees visiting the flowers. | |
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