Bee pollination benefits for other crops
Extract from Bulletin 4298: Honeybee pollination
The data in this report on the number of beehives required for
each hectare of crop are estimates based on experience of researchers
in Australia and overseas. The recommended numbers vary greatly
and are due to differences between variety requirements, localities
and the influence of local feral bee populations on pollination.
Therefore, the reader will often be presented with more than
one recommendation for a given number of hives per hectare.
Symbols used in the summaries
Click on the crop of interest to go to
information on it.
Coffee (Coffea arabica, C. canephora, C. liberica )
Hives per hectare:
Place hives 100 m apart; move into crop just prior to flowering.
Nectar production:
High sucrose content, 38 per cent.
Honey production:
Light amber, characteristic flavour.
Review of bee pollination benefits:
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Some varieties are self fertile.
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30 per cent of the yield can be attributable to pollination by honeybees.
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30 to 40 per cent fruit set of C. canephora (has fragrant flowers).
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22 per cent increase in yield of beans when near an apiary. Honeybees were the chief insect visitor.
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Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
Seed production:
Seeds contain about 1 per cent oil. Flowering period is 3 weeks.
Hives per hectare:
3 to 4.
Nectar production:
500 kg nectar/ha.
Honey production:
200 to 500 kg/ha; 204 kg/ha in Yugoslavia. High yields of honey produced.
Review of bee pollination benefits:
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85.9 to 97.1 per cent of the insect visitors were honeybees (USSR).
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70 per cent of the insect visitors were honeybees (Egypt).
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Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum, G. barbadense )
Flowering:
Cotton stigmas need about 100 viable pollen grains to set a full boll (25 to 35 seeds per boll).
Hives per hectare:
6.6; 4.9; 0.5 to 12; 100 bees per 100 flowers.
Nectar production:
The plants have extra-floral and leaf nectaries. In G. hirsutum, external floral nectaries produced more sugar than internal nectaries and leaf nectaries produced 50 per cent more sugar than floral nectaries. Leaf nectaries produced 44 mg nectar with 13.5 mg sugar in Albania. Calculated floral nectar per hectare was 50 to 106 kg based on 2.418 million flowers depending upon variety. A beehive can store 30 to 65 kg of honey during a cotton flow.
Honey production:
0 to 25 kg honey/ha. Other species 100 to 200 kg/ha. Very light amber, mild in flavour. Moderate quantities of pollen when insecticides are not a problem. In NSW, one bee colony per hectare collected 31.8 kg of honey.
Review of bee pollination benefits:
G. barbadense:
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Increase in cotton: 24, 23 to 27, 20.5 to 28.1, 16.4 to 24.5 per cent per plant; increase in number of bolls 23 to 48 per cent.
G. hirsutum:
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Percentage increase in cotton: 5 to 20, 24.4 (over 3-year period), 33, 6 to 33, 20.
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Honeybees caused G. hirsutum to set earlier but did not increase yield.
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30 per cent increase in production, 20 per cent increase in seed.
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4.9 hives/ha increased cotton production by 20.9 per cent.
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6.6 hives/ha increased cotton production by 45.5 per cent.
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Honeybees foraged on genetically cytoplasmic male sterile flowers in greater numbers than on male fertile flowers. Most of the foragers on male fertile flowers collected nectar rather than pollen.
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Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.)
Honey production:
Light, medium amber. Cyclic production from 0 kg to a 356 kg record in karri forest.
Review of bee pollination benefits:
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Eucalyptus alba increased seed yield by 93 per cent.
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Eucalyptus regnans plots showed no improvement.
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Eucalyptus diversicolor increased number of seeds per capsule.
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Lavender (Lavandula vera, L. spica, L. larifolia, Lavandin (L. vera x L. spica))
Honey production:
100 to 200 kg/ha. Medium to dark amber, strongly flavoured. 117 to 183 kg/ha (Bulgaria). Up
to 150 kg/ha (Russia).
Review of bee pollination benefits:
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16 to 20 per cent increase in oil production in caged (with honeybees) plots.
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Oil production is highest 15 days after peak flowering.
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The yield of oil was 16 to 20 per cent higher from plants visited by honeybees.
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Marjoram (Origanum vulgare )
Honey production:
167 to 204 kg honey per hectare (Bulgaria). Light with a greenish tinge, minty flavour, excellent to taste. Pollen brownish-grey.
Review of bee pollination benefits:
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Cross-pollinated by honeybees.
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Cross-pollinated by flies.
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Palms
Nectar production:
Excellent source of pollen. Roystonea regia (Royal palm) produces nectar in abundance.
Honey production:
Usually light amber, good flavour and aroma.
Review of bee pollination benefits:
Not known.
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Bees have been observed working 'Cocos' palm flowers in Perth metropolitan area - nursery seed trade.
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Important in oil seed production in tropical oil bearing palms, for example, Elaeis guineensis, which is an important source of nectar. Its honey is dark amber and strongly flavoured.
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Weevils are the major pollinator.
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Parsley (Petroselinum crispum )
Review of bee pollination benefits:
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Honeybees and syrphid flies are the most common pollinators of parsley, with pollen-collecting honeybees being the more efficient pollinators.
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Pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium )
Review of bee pollination benefits:
- Honeybees known to visit crop, but are not highly attracted.
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Tea (Camellia sinensis )
Review of bee pollination benefits:
- 90 per cent of the seed yield can be attributable to pollination by honeybees.
- Main pollinators are honeybees (USSR).
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Thyme (Thymus serpyllum )
Honey production:
Greater than 500 kg per hectare. Minty flavour (strongly aromatic), golden amber and excellent to taste. Best known honey plant in southern Europe.
Review of bee pollination benefits:
Not known.
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Page reviewed: March 2006