Exploring the Best Native Pollinators for Pumpkin (Cucurbitapepo) Production in Punjab, Pakistan.

Pollination in pumpkin (Cucrubita pepo) largely depends on activity of native insect pollinators, especially the bees. In order to explore the pollinator diversity and the best native pollinators for pumpkin production,' an experiment was performed at the research farm of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. The visitation frequency of the bees across staminate and pistillate flowers, pattern of diurnal and seasonal visitation, efficiency in harvesting and depositing pollen and resultant fruit set per single visit were evaluated. The insect pollinator community was composed of 18 species in 3 orders and 6 families. Nomia sp. Apis dorsata and Halictus sp. were among the most abundant (189, 399, 117 respectively) and efficient pollinators in terms of number of pollen grains harvested (3121.50±199.54, 2090.40±139.03, 798.45±109.39, respectively) and deposited (376.60±23.01, 204.15±20.63, 177.85±16.31, respectively). The single visit fruit set percentage also revealed Nomia sp. (36.66) as the best pollinator followed by the A. dorsata (23.33) and Halictus sp. (20.0). Conserving and enhancing these bee species may boost pumpkin production in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]