Home > Recent Research > Sericulture and Apiculture Division > Apiculture > Study of Honeybee and Bumblebee Pollination for Screen-house Tomatoes
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Date:2014-08-01
Two pollinators, honeybee Apis mellifera and bumblebee Bombus eximius were used to evaluate the pollination effects of large-sized tomatoes in vinyl screen-houses. The flower pollen gathering by B. eximius was observed by using the buzzing behavior, while in honeybee it was normal foraging behavior. Three pollination trials were observed from 25 to 34 days in the cooler seasons during November 2012 to April 2013. Even though temperatures in these facilities reached up to 30 ° C for a total of 116 hours at midday, both bees successfully pollinated the tomatoes. The results showed that using bumblebees for pollination resulted in a lower malformation rate and a higher number of seeds compared to using honeybees and spraying traditional chemical hormone.
