MELITOPHILLY EFFICIENCY OF STINGLESS BEES TETRAGONULA IRIDIPENNIS IN BALSAM PEAR (MOMORDICA CHARANTIA L.)

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to investigate the pollinator diversity and pollination efficiency of stingless bees, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith, on Balsam pear (Momordica charantia L.). The relative abundance of most frequent floral visitor species viz. Apis dorsata, Apis florea, Apis cerana indica, Halictus sp. and Megachile sp. on M. charantia were recorded. Data on the resource partitioning revealed on foraging activities of pollinators. Pollination efficiency was observed in pollinators applied field. The maximum fruit set was observed in pollination applied fields (80.23 %) compared to pollinator excluded fields (71.15 %). Prominent increases in the fruit length and girth in the pollinated plots were also observed which were 249.19 and 42.91 mm respectively. Maximum number of fruits per individual plant (24.10) was achieved with bee pollination as compared to control (21.20).