EFFECT OF HONEYBEE (APIS MELLIFERA L.) POLLINATION ON FRUIT SETTING AND YIELD OF CUCUMBER (CUCUMIS SATIVUS L.)

A field study was conducted to determine the effect of honeybee pollination on monoecious cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) yield at National Agriculture Research Centre Islamabad during kharif 2006. The experiment was laid out in a complete randomized block design with three treatments (i. plants caged with bees. ii. open visits of bees and iii. plants caged without bees-control). Fruit set percentage, individual fruit weight, length, circumference and yield per plant were measured. Both the open pollinated plants with bees and caged plants with bees significantly increased fruit set percentage, individual fruit weight, circumference and yield per plant as compared to the control. It is concluded from this experiment that honeybees visitation to the flowers are important for pollination as they influence both quantity and quality of cucumber production. It is recommended that honeybee hives should be moved into cucumber fields 2 to 3 days after the onset of flowering.