Effect of Bee Pollination (Apis mellifera Linnaeus) on Yield Attributes of Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)

Abstract

An experiment was conducted during the rabi season of 2021–2022 at the Beekeeping Unit, Tirhut College of Agriculture, Dholi, Bihar, to evaluate the impact of bee pollination (Apis mellifera Linnaeus) on yield and yield attributes of coriander (Coriandrum sativum). The study compared three pollination situations, namely open to all pollinators, pollinator exclusion and controlled bee pollination using A. mellifera colonies under caged condition. Results revealed that pre-pollination traits such as number of flowers per umbel and number of umbels per plant remained unaffected by pollination treatments, indicating that these parameters are independent of pollinator activity. In contrast, all reproductive and yield-related parameters were significantly influenced by pollination. Open pollination recorded the highest number of seeds per umbel, seeds per plant, fruit set, seed weight per plant, test weight, and seed yield, followed by bee pollination, while pollinator exclusion consistently resulted in the lowest values. Open pollination enhanced 80.43 per cent seed yield over pollinator exclusion, while Bee pollination enhanced seed yield by 58.26 per cent. The marked reduction in seed set, seed weight and yield under pollinator exclusion clearly demonstrated the strong dependence of coriander on insect-mediated pollination. The superior performance of open pollination reflected the combined contribution of multiple pollinator species, whereas controlled A. mellifera pollination alone was sufficient to bring about substantial yield improvement compared to pollinator absence. Overall, the findings clearly establish that honey bees play a crucial role in enhancing both qualitative and quantitative yield attributes of coriander.