Effect of honeybee (Apis cerana) pollination on pod set and yield of Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan)

The field trial was conducted during 2011 and 2012 showed that Apis cerana pollination gave significant results in terms of pod setting and yield of pigeon pea. The highest seed yield of pigeon pea was recorded in BP₃ (5 colonies/ha) treatment (11.32 q/ha, pooled data). Among the six treatments, the highest pod set was recorded in BP₃ (78.5%). There was 138.3% yield increase of pigeon pea in BP₃ treatment over without bee pollination (WBP). Pool analysis of data for both the years revealed that the highest yield was recorded in BP₃ (11.32±0.57 q/ha) and the lowest was 4.72±0.59 q/ha in WBP. The cost benefit ratio was found to be maximum (1: 4.19) in BP₃ treatment.