Pollination Potentiality of Honey Bee (Apis cerana Fab.) in Sunflower Hybrid (DRSH-1) Seed Production

The study was conducted at Main Agricultural Research Station, UAS, Raichur during rabi 2020-21 to utilize honey bees in sunflower hybrid seed production. Totally, thirty species of floral visitors were recorded on parental lines of sunflower hybrid (DRSH-1), among them 15 were hymenopterans, 7 lepidopterans, 5 coleopterans and 3 dipterans. Apis cerana was predominant pollinator (17.91±6.72 bees/ 5 capitula/ 5 min) on CMS parental line (ARM-243), followed by A. dorsata and least was A. florea. The peak foraging activity of A. dorsata was recorded at 0900-1000 hr with 24 bees, A. cerana recorded two peak foraging activity, one at 1100-1200 hr (29 bees) and another at 1600-1700 hr (18 bees) and A. florea recorded at 1000-1100 hr (10 bees). The maximum Shannon-Wiener index of diversity (H=1.32) of floral visitors on CMS line under open condition was recorded at 0800-0900 hr of the day and least (H=0.84) was at 1600-1700 hr. In case of fertility restorer line (6D-1) maximum Shannon-Wiener index was recorded at 1600-1700 hr (1.24). A. cerana under caged condition (three colonies per acre) without pollen load on CMS line were recorded highest mean number of nectar foragers (65±22.60 bees), followed by A. dorsata, A. cerana and A. florea foragers from natural colonies in open pollination condition. Whereas, highest mean number of nectar foragers (42.25±23.59) with pollen load in A. cerana under caged condition (three colonies per acre) were recorded, followed by A. dorsata, A. cerana and A. florea. Nectar foragers with pollen load on CMS line play an important role in transfer of pollen grains from restorer line to CMS line and carry out effective pollination. A. florea with and without pollen load spent more foraging duration (13.17 and 25.20 sec/capitulum respectively) on CMS line, followed by A. cerana and least in case of A. dorsata in open pollination. Bees without pollen load spent significantly greater nectar foraging duration as compared with bees with pollen load, both in caged and open pollination situations. Significantly highest seed yield per hectare (839.53 kg), per cent filled seeds (95.80 %), test weight (5.41 g), volume weight (46.41 g/100 ml), kernel percentage (66.09 %), highest kernel to husk ratio (1.94) and highest seed quality and associated parameters were recorded in hand + open pollinated plots, followed by the A. cerana @ 3 colonies per acre treated plots, hand pollination, open pollination and least seed quality parameters were recorded in control treatment.