Sunflower pollinators in Kenya: Does diversity influence seed yield?
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Date
2007Author
Kasina, M
Nderitu, J
Nyamasyo, G
Oronje, ML
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
A field experiment was carried out in
2004
and
2005
to study diversity
of sunflower (
Helianthus annuus
L.)
pollinators and their influence on seed yield in Makueni district, a semi
-
arid area in Eastern Kenya. The crop is prefered
by the local community as one of the main sources of income. Farmers do not manage pollination i
n any way for
enhanced crop yield and hence they rely on feral pollination. Insect flower visitors were recorded and pollen was dusted
in their body to aid in determining pollination efficiency index for each visitor. The influence of these flower visitors
on
the yield was assessed by comparing seed yield from plots that insects had access to and those to which they were
denied access
.
In total
,
individuals of
6
Lepidopteran species
,
5
Hymenopteran species
,
2
Dipteran species and one
coleopteran species wer
e observed visiting sunflower floral heads.
Apis mellifera
L.
was the most frequent visitor and
had the highest pollination efficiency index
.
Plots which insect visitors had access produced on average
59%
more
seeds than plots which insect visitors were ex
cluded. Presence of different species of visitors improved the crop yield,
implying diversity is beneficial in pollination of sunflower
Citation
African Crop Science Co nference Proceedings Vol . 8 . pp . 1149 - 1153, 2007Publisher
University of Nairobi Department of Zoology