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Adamou MoïseKingha Tékombo Bernice Mireille
Yatahaï Clément Minéo
Tchuenguem Fohouo Fernand–Nestor
Original Research Article
The role of carpenter bee (Xylocopa olivacea) pollination on fruit and seed yields of Lipstick tree (Bixa orellana, Bixaceae) crop in Cameroon
Adamou Moïse1,2*, Kingha Tékombo Bernice Mireille1, Yatahaï Clément Minéo1 and Tchuenguem Fohouo Fernand–Nestor1
1Laboratory of Applied Zoology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Ngaoundéré, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon
2Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of Garoua, University of Ngaoundéré, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon
*Corresponding Author Email: adamou.moise(at)yahoo.fr
Tel:+237691459611
Adamou Moïse |
Kingha Tékombo Bernice Mireille |
Yatahaï Clément Minéo |
Tchuenguem Fohouo Fernand–Nestor |
Article Number: IJAPR.20.003 | Pages: 26-34 | Vol.8 (1), February 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.15739/IJAPR.20.003
Received: November 24, 2019 Accepted: January 6, 2020 Published: January 13, 2020
Abstract
To evaluate the impact of a single visit of Xylocopa olivacea on fruit and seed yields of Bixa orellana, its foraging and pollinating activities were studied in Dang, during the rainy seasons of 2010 and 2011. Treatments included unlimited flowers access by all visitors, bagged flowers and flowers limited visits by X. olivacea only. The foraging behavior of X. olivacea on flowers and its pollination efficiency were recorded. Xylocopa olivacea was the third most frequent visitor and it intensely and exclusively collected pollen. The fruiting rate, the mean number of seeds per fruit and the percentage of normal seeds of unprotected flowers were significantly higher compared to protected flowers. Through its pollination efficiency, X. olivacea showed a significant increase of the fruiting rate by 35.83%, the number of seeds per fruit by 1.26% and the percentage of normal seeds by 72.49%. The conservation of X. olivacea nests close to B. orellana fields is recommended to improve fruit and seed production in the region.
Keywords:
Bixa orellana, flowers, pollen, pollination, Xylocopa olivacea, yield.
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