Relative abundance of insect visitors on flowers of major subtropical fruits in Himachal Pradesh and their effect on fruit set.
Ranjeet Bhatia, Divender Gupta, Chandel J. S., Sharma N. K.
Author Affiliation: Regional Horticultural Research Station, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Jachh, Himachal Pradesh 176 201, India.
Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 65 : 907-912
Abstract : The relative abundance of insect visitors on flowers of Dashehari mango, Dehradun litchi (Litchi chinensis) and Citrus spp. and their effect on fruit set was studied during 1992-93 in Himachal Pradesh, India. Of 34 insect species recorded on the flowers of loose-skinned mandarin, malta (C. sinensis), kinnow mandarin (C. nobilis × C. deliciosa), mango and litchi, 15 belonged to Diptera, 13 to Hymenoptera, 4 to Coleoptera and 1 each to Lepidoptera and Hemiptera. Of these insect species, Apis mellifera was the main pollinator of Citrus spp., A. florea and Episyrphus balteatus of litchi, and calliphorids of mango. Mango proved to be a highly cross-pollinated crop with the maximum increase in fruit set with pollinators, followed by malta (193.47%) and litchi (148.12%).