<b>Floral visitors and fruit production on sweet orange crop (<em>Citrus sinensis</em> L. Osbeck)</b> - DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v28i4.612

Abstract

The present experiment was carried out in flowerage of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck), Pera-rio variety, to study the insects involv ed in pollination, their behaviour in the flower (nectar or pollen collection) and the effect of the pollination on fruit production (quantity and quality). More frequent insects were recorded daily (counted during ten minutes, every hour) from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with three replications. The forage behaviour and nectar and/or pollen collect was also observed. The insect visitors on flowers were Africanized honey bee Apis mellifera, followed by stingless bees Trigona spinipes and Tetragonisca angustula. A. mellifera were the most frequent visitors and preferred to collect nectar than pollen. The uncovered flowers -buds produced more fruits than the covered ones. Another observation was that fruits derived from covered treatment were smaller, more acid and with less quantity of vitamin C than the uncovered ones.