The effect of fermented pollen supplements on the percentage of cell acceptance rate and royal jelly production in Iranian honey bees (Apis mellifera meda)

Abstract

Royal jelly (RJ) is a yellowish-white substance secreted by the secretory glands of young worker bees to feed the larvae and the queen throughout its life. This study investigates the effect of fermented pollen supplementation on RJ production and cell acceptance rate in Iranian honey bees. The experiment was conducted in Marivan, Iran, for 30 days in the summer of 2020. Experimental treatments include (1) control (sugar syrup); (2) pollen cake (raw pollen, powdered sugar, and honey) + sugar syrup; (3) unfermented pollen supplement + sugar syrup; and (4) fermented pollen + sugar syrup. RJ production and cell acceptance rate were measured and estimated at different time intervals. The collected data were analyzed in a completely randomized design using SAS9.4 software using the GLM procedure. The results showed that different experimental treatments had a significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) on the amount of RJ produced. Among various treatments, the highest RJ production was related to the fourth treatment (12.53 g), and the control treatment (8.07 g) had the lowest production rate. In addition, the highest mean percentage of cell acceptance rate (97.58%) was related to the fermented pollen + sugar syrup treatment. The results showed a positive and high correlation between the two traits of cell acceptance rate and RJ production. In general, a fermented supplementary diet is more efficient than unfermented rations with the same ingredients, therefore recommendable for the apiculture industry.