Honey Bee Pollination Increases Soybean Yields in the Mississippi Delta Region of Arkansas and Missouri12

Abstract

The effect of foraging honey bees, Apis mellifera L., on yield of soybeans, Glycine max (L.) Merr., was evaluated in the Mississippi Delta regions of Arkansas and Missouri. In combined analysis of 2 cage trials, 15% more beans were produced in cages with bees than in cages without bees. In soybean fields with adjacent apiaries, yields were significantly higher at distances of up to 100 m from the apiaries than at greater distances.