http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
Honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), as pollinators of upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. (Malvaceae), for hybrid seed production
xvii, 333 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm
The commercial production of F1 hybrid upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutumL.) seed requires the use of an economical and reliable strategy to insure adequate pollination between male-fertile (MF) and male-sterile (MS) flowers. Ultrasonic pollen removal followed by focused flow counting of the pollen grains with an electrical sensing zone particle counter provided a uniform approach to measure rapidly, reliably, and with good precision, pollination dynamics in cotton grown for hybrid seed production. Pollination intensities were measured in 5 to 8 min at [plus or minus] 5 grains or [plus or minus] 2%, whichever was the larger, for up to 7,000 pollen grains per stigma. The pollen production of individual flowers was measured in less than 3 min with [plus or minus] 50 grains and the cotton pollen carryover of apoid foragers was measured in 1 to 4 min at [plus or minus] 5 grains up to 500 grains, [plus or minus] 10 grains up to 1,000 grains, and [plus or minus] 50 grains beyond 1,000 and up to 40,000 grains. Honey bees were effective pollinators of hybrid cotton parental lines, though the efficiency of individual foragers was low. Honey bee foraging pattern and grooming behavior resulted in a low pollen carryover for MS foragers (50 - 150 cotton pollen grains/bee) with only a few pollen grains deposited at each visit. Pollination effectiveness, measured by the seed cotton yield ratio Y[MS/MF], increased linearly with the stocking rate (honey bee colonies/ha), mainly as a result of larger MS bolls. The seasonal density of honey bee foragers on MF flowers increased linearly with the stocking rate, indicating increased foraging competition. The Log of MS pollination intensity was linearly related to the Log of the density of apoid foragers and Y[MS/MF] increased linearly with the Log of the forager density on MF flowers. Cotton pollen collection by honey bees took place only when colonies experienced a severe dearth of pollen, but pollen collectors were not effective for pollination of MS flowers since they seldom switched between lines. Higher relative humidity in the area from sprinkler irrigation resulted in increased cotton pollen collection...