Entomofauna enhance the quality and quantity in Okra Tanda A. S.* School of Horticulture, University of Western Sydney, Richmond, Australia *Current Address: 2/49 Arthur Street, Rosehill, NSW, 2142, Australia, Email: drtanda101@gmail.com
Online published on 30 April, 2019. Abstract The most important insect pollinators of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench (Malvaceae) at Rosehill NSW Australia were the honey bees Apis mellifera. Bee pollination enhanced the quality and quantity of okra vegetable patches. Of a sample of 100 A. mellifera foragers in okra, 62 collected nectar, 21 pollen and 17 both nectar and pollen. Corresponding numbers for wild bees were 77, 13 and 10. Insect visitors included honey bees, other bees, butterflies and Scoliid spp. For honey bees the numbers of flowers visited per foraging trip were: wild bees 104, A. mellifera 97 and others 44. The maximum numbers of flowers visited/min by these bees were 3.1, 5.1 and 2.5, respectively. Fruit retention on flowers known to have been pollinated by honey bees was 37–42%, in the flowers pollinated by other insects it was 25%, and on self-pollinated flowers it was 17%. Fruit quality and fruit length was significantly better in bee-pollinated flowers. Top Keywords Apis mellifera, okra, insect pollinator, fruit quality, length, fruit retention, number of flowers, visited, nectar foraging. Top |