Comparative Performance of Hive Bee on Yield of Cucumber (<i>Cucumis sativus</i> L.)

Abstract

The studies on comparative performance of hive bee on yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) were carried out with five treatments like pollination with Apis cerana, A. mellifera, Tetragonula laeviceps, pollination without bees andopen pollination at college farm, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari during summer 2018. In the present study, it was found that pollination by different bee species in cage condition as well as different pollinators in open pollination have the positive influence on different yield parameters of cucumber viz., number of fruits in each plant, fruit set (%), fruit length, fruit diameter and fruit weight. The present findings clearly indicates the role of honey bees i.e. A. cerana and A. mellifera which can be further exploited in planned bee pollination to achieve desired production potentials of cucumber crop.