Department of Biosciences, H. P. University, Shimla, 171 005
In self-incompatible varieties of apple like Royal and Red Delicious, there was no fruit set in the absence of insect pollinators and it was 10.12 and 8.27 per cent higher in honeybees pollinated flowers as compared to open pollinated flowers. However, in self-compatible varieties like Golden Delicious and Red Gold, honeybee and other natural insect pollinators were not essential for good fruit set. The fruit drop in Golden Delicious and Red Gold without any insect pollinators was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than in open and honeybees pollinated flowers. The difference in the fruit drop of honeybees and open pollinated flowers of all four varieties of apple was non-significant. Cross pollination by honeybees significantly increased the fruit quality in terms of weight, length, breadth, volume and number of seeds per fruit.
