Bee Pollination Efficiency on Vigna Unguiculata Flowers in Cameroon | InformativeBD

Pharaon Mbianda Auguste, Chantal Douka, Dounia, Christian Etoundi Eloundou, and  Fernand-NestorTchuenguem Fohouo, from the different institute of the Cameroon. wrote a research article about, Bee Pollination Efficiency on Vigna Unguiculata Flowers in Cameroon. entitled, Pollination Efficiency of Apis Mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Flowers of Vigna Unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Fabaceae) at Bilone (Obala, Cameroon).This research paper published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB. an open access scholarly research journal on Biology, under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences | INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

 Abstract

To evaluate Apis mellifera impact on pod and seed yields of Vigna unguiculata, its foraging and pollinating activities were studied in Bilone during the rainy season of 2016 and 2017. Treatments included unlimited flowers access by all visitors, bagged flowers to avoid all insects’ pollinators and limited of single visit of A. mellifera worker. For each year of study, observations were made on 40±7 flowers per treatments. Apis mellifera foraging behavior and its pollination efficiency were evaluated. Results show that this bee foraged nectar and pollen on V. unguiculata flowers during the whole blooming period. The number of seeds per pod of unprotected flowers were significantly higher than those of flowers protected from insects (P<0.001). Through its pollination efficiency, A. mellifera provoked a significant increment the number of seeds per pod by 2.34% in 2016 and 18.89% in 2017 and the percentage of normal seeds by 0.28% in 2016 and 0.17% in 2017. The installation of A. mellifera colonies close to V. unguiculata fields is recommended to increase pod and seed yield in the region.

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Introduction

Several plant species depend on insect pollinators for their reproduction (McGregor, 1976; Philippe, 1991). In agro ecosystems, these pollinators have a great ecological and economic importance because they influence positively plant productions (Philippe, 1991; Tchuenguem, 2005). Vigna unguiculata is annual plant originated from Africa (Dabire, 2001). Vigna unguiculata grow vertically (upright to 5 m); climbing stems can reach two to three meters high. The leaves are generally trifoliate, the flower is pink, but can vary from white to red (Philippe, 1991) and produces nectar and pollen which attract insects (Dabire, 2001; Rodolphe-Edouard et al., 2002; Mone, 2008; Pando et al., 2014; Djonwangwé et al., 2017). Cross-pollination by insects is generally observed (Dabire, 2001; Mone, 2008; Rodolphe-Edouard et al., 2002; Bricas et al., 2009; Pando et al., 2014; Djonwangwé et al., 2017). Niger and Nigeria are the largest producers of V. unguiculata and Cameroon is the best producer in Central Africa (Bricas et al., 2009).

The fruit is a pod containing average fifteen seeds (Tchuenguem et al., 2009). Per 100 g of dry matter, ripe seeds contain proteins (23.65 to 29.98%), glucose (44.1 to 49.6%), and lipids (1.35 to 1.66%) (Iqbal et al., 2006; Piergivanni et al., 1989) those are important for human’s diets.

These researches conducted in Benin by Pauly et al. (2009), in Cameroon by Tchuenguem et al. (2009), Pando et al. (2014) and Djonwangwé et al. (2017) have revealed that Apis mellifera visits V. unguiculata flowers and collect nectar and pollen. No previous research has been reported on the relations between V. unguiculata flowers and A. mellifera in Bilone (Center Region, Cameroon), although, the activities of insects on the flowers can vary with region (Tchuenguem, 2005; Roubik, 2000). The main objective of this research was to gather more data on the relations between V. unguiculata and A. mellifera. Specific objectives were to study the activities of this bee on V. unguiculata flowers and to evaluate its pollination efficiency on pod and seed yields.

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Source : Pollination Efficiency of Apis Mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on Flowers of Vigna Unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Fabaceae) at Bilone (Obala, Cameroon)