Food supply in honeybee colonies improved kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) (Actinidiaceae: Theales) pollination service

DE PIANO FIORELLA; MEROI ARCERITO F.R.; DE FEUDIS LEONARDO; ALICIA BASÍLIO; GALETTO LEONARDO; EGUARAS M.; MAGGI M.

Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina

Sociedad Entomológica Argentina

Lugar: Mendoza: Sociedad Entomológica Argentina; Año: 2021

The current agriculture model determines a decrease in semi-natural habitatsleading to poor nutrition for honeybee colonies, which usually need to be foodsupplemented. Honeybees are used to transfer pollen between male and female kiwifruit(Actinidia deliciosa Liang & Ferguson) plants, increasing fruit quality and crop yield. Themain goal was to determine the effect of stimulating Apis mellifera L. colonies withstandard food supplies on the collection of kiwifruit pollen. However, honey bees can alsoforage other flowering species in the crop site´s surrounding areas. We selected kiwifruit asa model to analyze the effects of food supply on pollen collection of the target crop. Thefollowing experimental treatments (n = 5 hives each) were conducted in a kiwifruit orchardin Mar del Plata, Argentina: Group J/A: supplied with sugar syrup (2:1) + liquid proteinsupplements (?Api-promotor®?); Group J/P: supplied with sugar syrup (2:1) + solidprotein supplements (?patty?); Group J: supplied with sugar syrup (2:1); Group C:control, not supplied. Colonies supplied with J, J/P and J/A collected more kiwifruit pollenthan the other two treatments, even under other flowering species in areas nearby.Although honeybees collected most pollen from other plant species of semi-natural habitats, J/P, J, and J/A treatments can significantly improve the honeybees´ kiwifruitpollination service.