Floral visitors of &lt;i&gt;Ananas comosus&lt;/i&gt; in Ghana: A preliminary assessment

Peter Kwapong,Andreas Kudom

doi:10.26786/1920-7603(2010)4

Abstract

Ananas comosus var comosus (L.) Merr. is the third most important tropical fruit in the world production and the leading foreign exchange earner among fresh fruits exported from Ghana. A survey was conducted in pineapple farms in the Central region of Ghana to identify floral visitors and their activities on the flowers. Nectar concentration and energetics and effect of floral visitors on fruit production were determined. Fourteen species of butterflies and one ant species were the main insect floral visitors as well as four species of sunbirds. The mean nectar concentration was 23.3% (± 0.39, SE) and pollination limitation did not significantly affect fruit yield (weight: p = 0.285; length: p = 0.056; width: p= 0.268). The study showed that butterflies, ants and sunbirds are the main floral visitors on A. comosus. However their visits did not results in pollination and fruit production was not affected in any way by floral visitation. Still, it was found that A. comosus provides an important nectar resource for its foragers. Even if pollination is not crucial in pineapple cultivation, it is still essential in pineapple breeding programs to promote genetic diversity and conservation.

Highlights

Pollinators provide an essential ecosystem service that result in the out-crossing and sexual reproduction of many plants (Kearns et al 1998; Klein et al 2007)
This paper reports the floral visitors on A. comosus and the effect of their visit on fruit production
Apis mellifera adansonii Linnaeus, Xylocopa calens Lepeletier and Dactylurina staudingeri Gribodo were seen in the pineapple farm collecting nectar from flowers of weeds and other plants but not foraging on pineapple flowers

Summary

Introduction

Pollinators provide an essential ecosystem service that result in the out-crossing and sexual reproduction of many plants (Kearns et al 1998; Klein et al 2007). They benefit society by increasing food security and improving livelihoods and by the role they play in conserving biological diversity in agricultural and natural ecosystems (Klein et al 2007). Ghana has excellent A. comosus growing conditions capable of producing high quality and well-coloured fruit (Dixie & Sergeant 1998) This project was undertaken to identify floral visitors of A. comosus in the coastal part of Ghana to gain more insight into the interactions between A. comosus and its floral visitors

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion