EFFECT OF BEE ATTRACTANTS ON FORAGING BEHAVIOUR OF APIS FLOREA AND PRODUCTIVITY OF NIGER, GUIZOTIA ABYSSINICA (L.F.) CASS

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif 2022 at the Experimental Farm, PC Unit Sesame & Niger, College of Agriculture, JNKVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India, to evaluate the efficacy of different bee attractants in enhancing the foraging activity of Apis florea and their subsequent effect on seed yield of niger. The results indicated that the response of Apis florea varied considerably with the type of attractant and flowering stage. At 10% flowering, the highest bee visitation was observed in plots receiving 10% flower extract of Madhuca longifolia, with 14.67 individuals m⁻² 5 min⁻¹. At 50% flowering, maximum visitation was recorded with 10% Phoenix dactylifera fruit extract, registering 14.00 individuals m⁻² 5 min⁻¹. Rose water at 10% concentration and 10% sugar solution also promoted substantial bee activity, recording 13.75 and 13.67 individuals m⁻² 5 min⁻¹, respectively. In comparison, the untreated control recorded only 5.00 and 3.50 individuals m⁻² 5 min⁻¹ at 10% and 50% flowering, respectively, whereas water spray resulted in 7.33 and 4.75 individuals m⁻² 5 min⁻¹. A significant improvement in niger seed yield was also observed with the application of selected attractants. Foliar spraying of 10% Madhuca longifolia flower extract, 10% Phoenix dactylifera fruit extract, and 10% rose water produced 6.96, 6.90, and 6.42 q ha⁻¹ seed yield, respectively, and were statistically superior to the other treatments. The study therefore indicated that natural flower and fruit extracts, particularly Madhuca longifolia and Phoenix dactylifera, can effectively increase A. florea visitation during niger flowering and contribute to enhanced seed productivity.