<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>In this study, the pollinating potential of the red mason bee (<italic>Osmia bicornis</italic> syn. <italic>O. rufa</italic>) in seed production of a major ornamental plant - Persian cyclamen (<italic>Cyclamen persicum</italic>), was evaluated under horticultural farm conditions. The study was conducted under a greenhouse environment for five months, from October to the end of February. The juvenile hormone analogue methoprene supported the termination of bee diapause. Experimental results from <italic>Osmia</italic> pollination plots were compared with control plots that applied the hand-pollination method. Plants with flowers pollinated by the solitary bee had significantly more fruits than those pollinated by the hand method in November, December and February. In addition, significantly more seeds per capsule were produced by plants pollinated by <italic>O. bicornis</italic> from December to February. Finally, plants pollinated by <italic>Osmia</italic> bees produced more seeds than those hand-pollinated at all experimental months. These results showed that if the diapause of <italic>O. bicornis</italic> is successfully broken, this bee can be a very efficient pollinator in greenhouse environments, even during winter.</p>
</abstract>

In this study, the pollinating potential of the red mason bee (Osmia bicornis syn. O. rufa) in seed production of a major ornamental plant - Persian cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum), was evaluated under horticultural farm conditions. The study was conducted under a greenhouse environment for five months, from October to the end of February. The juvenile hormone analogue methoprene supported the termination of bee diapause. Experimental results from Osmia pollination plots were compared with control plots that applied the hand-pollination method. Plants with flowers pollinated by the solitary bee had significantly more fruits than those pollinated by the hand method in November, December and February. In addition, significantly more seeds per capsule were produced by plants pollinated by O. bicornis from December to February. Finally, plants pollinated by Osmia bees produced more seeds than those hand-pollinated at all experimental months. These results showed that if the diapause of O. bicornis is successfully broken, this bee can be a very efficient pollinator in greenhouse environments, even during winter.

Use of <italic>Osmia bicornis</italic> L. for Pollination of <italic>Cyclamen persicum</italic> Mill. Cultivated in Greenhouse Environment During Winter Period

Journal of Apicultural Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Use of  L. for Pollination of  Mill. Cultivated in Greenhouse Environment During Winter Period

In this study, the pollinating potential of the red mason bee (Osmia bicornis syn. O. rufa) in seed production of a major ornamental plant - Persian cyclamen...

Pollination method	Months of pollination
Pollination method	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb
Osmia bicornis	7.1±0.15	6.5±0.17	6.6±0.09	7.7±0.27	7.8±0.42
hand pollination	7.1±0.13	6.4±0.14	6.4±0.03	6.1±0.30	7.7±0.22

Pollination method	Months of pollination
Pollination method	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb
Osmia bicornis	10.5±2.62	10.5±3.37	9.6±3.01	10.4±3.18	10.8±3.19
hand pollination	10.9±3.37	11.0±3.26	9.4±3.39	9.9±3.32	10.4±3.44

Use of Osmia bicornis L. for Pollination of Cyclamen persicum Mill. Cultivated in Greenhouse Environment During Winter Period

Article Category: Original Article

Published Online: Jun 22, 2022

Page range: 57 - 66

Received: Jul 30, 2021

Accepted: May 04, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2022-0007

Keywords
greenhouse, pollination, winter period

© 2022 Monika Fliszkiewicz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Mass of thousand seeds (g) during experimental period from October to February

Number of flowers per plant, during experimental period from October to February

Use of Osmia bicornis L. for Pollination of Cyclamen persicum Mill. Cultivated in Greenhouse Environment During Winter Period

Article Category: Original Article

Published Online: Jun 22, 2022

Page range: 57 - 66

Received: Jul 30, 2021

Accepted: May 04, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2022-0007

Keywordsgreenhouse, pollination, winter period

© 2022 Monika Fliszkiewicz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Mass of thousand seeds (g) during experimental period from October to February

Number of flowers per plant, during experimental period from October to February

Keywords
greenhouse, pollination, winter period