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The present study aims to investigate the diversity and abundance of pollinators and flower visitors of chayote (Sechiumedule) in different geographic locations of Tamil Nadu, India, with an emphasis on the flowering period and its significance as a valuable bee pasturage. The study was conducted during two distinct flowering periods: from November 2023 to January 2024 at Karumandurai, Hosur, and Sirumalai, and from May 2024 to July 2024 at Coonoor. The Chayote flowers are monoecious and were observed for their attractiveness to pollinators since, it produces large quantity of nectar and pollen. A total of 1024 individual insect visitors and pollinators were collected across the studied locations. The study revealed the diversity and abundance of pollinators and flower visitors in different geographic locations of Tamil Nadu in which chayote has been predominantly cultivated. Altitude decides the climatic conditions of an area that influences the chayote flowering phenology and diversity of pollinators. Factors such as temperature, rainfall and season play a crucial role in determining the diversity and abundance of chayote pollinators in Tamil Nadu. The identification of 37 species from four major insect orders viz., Hymenoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera reflects a high level of species richness among chayote pollinators in the region (FIG 1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data on physical and mechanical properties of short and long‐duration cassava cultivars are limited to design an efficient continuous type peeling machine for small‐scale processing. Short duration cultivars included Sree Jaya, Sree Vijaya, and Sree Swarna, as well as long duration cultivars included M‐4, Sree Athulya, Sree Suvarna, H‐226, Sree Raksha, Sree Pavithra, and Sree Vishakam, were investigated. The moisture content, girth, proximal diameter, middle diameter, cylindricity, and tuber surface taper angle were the highest for long‐duration cultivar H‐226. The maximum length was observed in the short‐duration cultivar Sree Swarna. The periderm thickness was the highest for Sree Suvarna, whereas the highest proximal cortex thickness, middle cortex thickness, and distal cortex thickness were observed in Sree Athulya, Sree Vijaya, and M‐4 cultivar, respectively. The highest bulk density, true density, and porosity were observed in the long‐duration cultivars; Sree Raksha, Sree Athulya, and Sree Suvarna, respectively. The highest hardness, shear force, and rupture force were recorded for cassava peelings in the cultivar Sree Athulya. Similarly for cassava flesh, the highest hardness, shear force, and rupture forces were recorded in the Sree Suvarna cultivar. A strong positive correlation for true density with bulk density and proximal diameter and moisture content with cylindricity and middle‐end diameter was found from the multivariate correlation analysis. Statistical analysis showed that the reported physical and mechanical properties of the cultivars were highly significant (p <.01). Practical Applications: Engineering properties such as physical and mechanical properties are important for designing machines, storage structures, and processes. Cassava tuber peeling by the manual method is time‐consuming, labor‐intensive, and has a low capacity. Thus, the design of a peeling machine for small‐scale processing becomes important. The physical and mechanical characteristics of cassava flesh and peelings are critical design considerations for developing peeling machines for small‐scale processing. The physical and mechanical properties investigated here would provide technical and scientific data for designing continuous shearing type cassava peeling machine units such as tuber feeder length, peeling knife selection, peeling knife angle, and adjustable spring with required tension for holding rotary type peeling knife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Honey bees play an important role in crop pollination of bitter gourd flowers. An experiment was conducted at Coimbatore District to observe the foraging activity and pollination efficiency of Indian bee (A. cerana indica) in Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.). The foraging activity and number of foragers/ flower/ min was recorded in male and female bitter gourd flower. Bitter gourd fruit set and yield was assessed under three conditions pollinator exclusion, bee pollination and open pollination. No. of foragers/ flower/ minute (abundance of pollinators) and floral handling time in seconds (foraging rate) of Indian bees recorded on male flower (0.88 bees) and (6.52 sec) was higher than in female flower (0.57 bees) and (3.61 sec) respectively. The peak foraging activity of A. cerana indica noticed between 08:00-10:00 hours with 1.2 foragers/ 5 mins. Pollination efficiency index of Indian bee was 747035.5. Foraging activity at the hive entrance was maximum at 08:00 to 10:00 hours. Colony growth parameter of A. cerana indica was increased 67.85% in respect of the sealed honey area and 15.07% in respect of the adult population. The results of pollination studies show, the number of fruits/plant (17.4 fruits) and fruit yield per hectare (41.13 t/ha) was higher in managed bee pollinated plot than to open pollination condition (16.2 fruits) and (37.25 t/ha) and no fruit set was recorded in pollination exclusion condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]