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An Evaluation of Honey Bee Foraging Activity and Pollination Efficacy for Male-Sterile Cotton¹

The effectiveness of honey bees, Apis mellifera L., as pollinators of male-sterile cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., was evaluated using 649 colonies located adjacent to 53 ha of cotton grown on Pullman clay loam (fine, mixed, thermic Torrertic Paleustoll) near Plainview, TX. The planting pattern used was 2A (male-sterile seed parent): 2B (male-fertile maintainer) rows throughout. Colonies were evaluated for population, brood, and weight changes. Observers recorded bee visits to flowers of both A-line and B-line plants. Flowers were tagged over a 5-week period to determine the percentage of bolls setting and the yield of seed and lint. Most colonies had less than 10 frames of bees and less than 3 frames of brood. Honey bee visits to the A-line flowers varied from 0.4 to 1.7% over a 5- week period of observation. The bee activity on the B-line flowers was much less, with a range of 0.1 to 1.2% visits. The authors concluded that 5 colonies/ha with 28 000 bees per colony would adequately pollinate male-sterile cotton under the conditions of this test.

Key Words: Apis mellifera • Gossypium hirsutum • Pollination • Nectar • Pollen

² Research entomologist, research plant physiologist, and agricultural research technician, USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Res. Ctr., 2000 E. Allen Rd., Tucson, AZ 85719.

³ Research entomologist, USDA-ARS Plant Science and Water Conserv. Lab., Stillwater, OK 74076.

Received for publication May 20, 1983.