ISHS Acta Horticulturae 412: I International Symposium on Solanacea for Fresh Market
EFFICIENCY OF BUMBLE BEES ON THE YIELD AND QUALITY OF EGGPLANT AND TOMATO GROWN IN UNHEATED GLASSHOUSES |
| Authors: | K. Abak, N. Sari, M. Paksoy, O. Kaftanoglu, H. Yeninar |
| Keywords: | Solanum melongena, Lycopersicon esculentum, Bombus terrestris, pollination, fruit set |
| Abstract:
"Munica" eggplant and "Fantastic F1 (Daniela)" tomato varieties were grown in two 500 m2 glasshouses. Bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) colonies containing 50–60 worker bees were placed in each glasshouse. Some control plots were covered by a net to prevent the bumble bees visits and the other plots were not covered to allow pollination by bumble bees. In the bumble bee pollinated plants, yield was higher than in the control plants (23% in eggplant, 17% in tomato). Number of fruits per m2 (22% in eggplant, 6% in tomato) and the number of seeds per fruit (62% in eggplant, 100 % in tomato) were also higher. There was no significant difference on fruit quality characteristics (total soluble solids content, pH of fruit juice, titretble acidity, and fruit diameter in tomato; average fruit weight, fruit diameter and fruit length in eggplant) between bumble bee pollinated and non-pollinated tomato and eggplant fruitls. One bumble bee visited an average of 4.7 flowers per minute even if it can visit up to 14.8 flowers per minute in this glasshouse conditions. | |
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