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Effects of Insect Tripping on Seed Yield of Common Bean

D. Barnhart, B. Ehdaie, K. M. Knio and J. G. Waines^*

Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias, CE Valle del Guadiana, Apartado Postal 186, 34000 Durango, Mexico
Dep. Biology, American University of Beirut,, Lebanon
Dep. of Botany and Plant Sciences, Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0124

^* Corresponding author (waines{at}ucrac1.ucr.edu).

Insect tripping might enhance seed production in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The effect of flower visits by insects on seed production was studied during 3 yr, 1992 to 1994, in Riverside, CA, using four cultivars with different growth habits: Linden, Pindak, PI 164778, and Ferry Morse 53 (FM 53). Each year, a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with four replicates was used. Each cultivar was grown under three treatments: (i) exposed to open visitation by all insects, (ii) in insect-proof cages, and (iii) in cages with bumblebees. All pods produced by bean plants were collected and counted, and seed yield was determined. Year-to-year variation had signiticant impact on cultivar performance and treatment effects. The bean lines were significantly different for seed yield. The treatment effects were not consistent across years. The old cultivar FM 53 and line PI 164778 had no clear trend for seed yield response to insect visits across years, whereas Linden and Pindak showed a more defined and positive response to visits. Seed yield of Linden was similar in the open visitation and caged-with-bumblebees treatments but was significantly higher than that of caged plants, by 13% in 1992 and by 35% in 1994. Pindak showed a 9% increase in seed yield when plants were visited by insects in the open or in caged treatments compared with caged plants in 1992. The results indicate that cultivars such as Linden and Pindak, which behave as determinate plants, may respond to bumblebee tripping by increasing seed yield.

Received for publication March 23, 1998.