Controlled pollination and population dynamics of pollinators of apple in Kashmir

To investigate impact of Controlled Release Pollination on abundance and % population of major pollinators of apple, three pollination treatments were compared during 2011–12. i.e., natural pollination (Treatment T₀), controlled release with three hive units (Treatment T₁) and controlled release with five hive units (Treatment T₂). Comparative abundance showed that hymenopterans were the most abundant visitors to apple flowers in all the treatments with the maximum population being under treatment T₂ (77.78). The population of Apis mellifera L. in the three treatments differed significantly and an increase of 273.59 and 185.53% was demonstrated in a significant manner in orchards with controlled release of five and three hives, respectively, when compared to naturally pollinated orchards.