2024, Vol. 7, Special Issue 3

author(s)
Manju Devi, Harish Kumar Sharma, Deepika and Priyanka Thakur

abstract
Honeybees are acknowledged to be the most essential pollinating insects in apple orchards, accounting for the vast majority of pollinating insects. The ideal percentage of pollinating trees in apple orchards is 33.33 percent. However, the majority of the state's orchards have a low pollinizer proportion. Therefore, the purpose of the current investigations was to determine how pollinator proportion and bee pollination affect apple yield. The orchards at each location were separated into orchards with sufficient pollinator proportion and orchards with insufficient pollinator proportion. The recommended number of A. mellifera colonies was introduced at each location. A survey from major apple-growing area (Kullu, Shimla, Kinnaur, and Mandi) indicated fruit set percent ranged between 31.33 to 51.67 in orchards with bee colonies having a sufficient pollinizer proportion as compared to the location without bee colonies having insufficient pollinizer proportion. Bee colony placement in orchards with sufficient pollinizer proportion (SPP) and insufficient pollinizer proportion (IPP) has a great impact on fruit set. The apple yield increased in orchards with the recommended number of A. mellifera colonies and an adequate pollinizer ratio.