Diversity of pollinators and their role in the pollination biology of chickpea,Cicer arietinum L. (Fabaceae) |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Pure and Applied Biology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan;2. Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, MNS- University of Agriculture, Multan 60000, Pakistan;3. Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan;4. Plant Protection Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China;5. Unit of Bee Research and Honey Production, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia;6. Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia;7. Biology Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia;1. Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing/Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510610, China;2. School of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China;3. School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China;1. Department of Life Sciences, Gachon University, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea;2. Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA;3. Appalachian Fruit Research Station, USDA-ARS, Kearneysville, WV, USA |
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| Abstract: | Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important source of food for people worldwide. In the current study, we studied its pollination biology with special reference to floral visitors along with their visitation rate, frequency and pollen load during 2012 and 2013. We also explored the effect of floral visitors on the capsule weight, seed weight, seed numbers and seed germination. Results revealed three bees, two wasps, five flies, one moth and three butterfly species on the flowers of chickpea. Apis dorsata, A. florea, Amegilla sp. and Eristalinus aeneus were the major species with 434–474, 223–311, 69–74 and 81–136 individuals, respectively in both years. Floral visitors differed significantly in term of visitation frequency with A. florea as the most frequent visitor (9.13–9.86 visits/flower/5 min) followed by E. aeneus (5.43–5.58 visits/flower/5 min) and A. dorsata (1.72–2.31 visits/flower/5 min) in both years. Similarly, A. florea had statistically highest visitation rate (16.85–19.99 flowers visited/min) followed by E. aeneus (9.73–10.68 flowers visited/min). A. dorsata had significantly higher pollen load on its body (84629–85,104 pollen grains) followed by A. florea (64940–65,135 pollen grains) and Amegilla sp. (64020–65,120 pollen grains). The open-pollinated flowers had significantly higher capsule weight (0.27 ± 0.01 g), seed weight (0.18 ± 0.01 g), seed numbers (1.67 ± 0.07 seeds) and seed germination (95 ± 1.38%) as compared to flowers deprived of pollinators in cages. The results suggested A. florea, A. dorsata and E. aeneus could be effective pollinators of chickpea. Hence these three species can be properly utilized on commercial scale to increase crop yield. |
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