Rukshanda Hanif, Munazah Yaqoob, Liyaqat Ayoub, Jameela Rasoo and Fazil Fayaz Wani
Abstract
Cucumber, a member of gourd family, Cucurbitaceae, is a widely cultivated vegetable renowned for its refreshing flavor and crisp texture. Cucumbers typically tend to be monocious and need insects as pollinators for efficient and successful pollination. Field experiment was carried out to study foraging efficiency of major insect pollinators of cucumber. The lowest foraging speed (time spent on flower in seconds) was recorded in Apis cerana (5.60 seconds) and highest in Eristalis arbustorum (51.55 seconds). The highest foraging rate (number of flowers visited/minute) was recorded in Apis cerana (11.27) and lowest in Eristalis arbustorum (1.20). Apis cerana carried the highest number of loose pollen grains (4.0 lakh) and Eristalis arbustorum carried the lowest number of loose pollen grains (0.2 lakh).