EFFECT OF BEE POLLINATION ON THE YIELD OF SESAME, SESAMUM INDICUM L.

Abstract

The experiment was conducted in the Central Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka-1207 during the period from April to July, 2013 to observe the foraging behavior of Apis mellifera in sesame field. The treatments were T1 (Caged with honey bee); T2 (Caged without honey bee) and T3 (Open plot).The result revealed that pollinator Apis mellifera visitation was highest (101.75) in T1 treatment followed by T3(51.25) and T2 (24.25) which were significantly different from each other. The highest number of pollinators visitation time was recorded from 6.00 A.M to 9.00 A.M in all three treatment where as lowest number of visitation was recorded in mid-day (2.00 P.M to 3.00 P.M). T1 treatment that caged with honey bee was the most effective in increasing no. of capsule per plant (86.50) and no. of seeds per capsule (56.75) followed by T3 treatment which was significantly different.In case of thousand seed weight (g), the highest result was recorded in T1 (3.48) treatment followed by T3 (3.20) treatment was significantly different. Yield of sesame after harvest was highest in T1 (1.16 t/ha) followed by T3 (1.03 t/ha) with no significant difference.