Publication Date
1993
Description
The principal pollinator of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) in California, USA is the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). However, honey bees are notoriously inefficient pollinators of lucerne because they learn to avoid tripping the floret. Easy-to-trip lucerne florets could reduce this problem. These studies were designed to determine the inheritance of ease of tripping and assess the effect of ease of tripping on the rate of outcrossing. Both additive and digenic variance for ease of tripping were significant, resulting in a heritability of 34.0:1:16.2%. Ease of tripping had no influence on outcrossing rate, which was estimated to average 74.7%. Selection for easy-to-trip lucerne populations should enhance seed production without an increase in inbreeding, and therefore it should not be detrimental to subsequent forage production.
Citation
Teuber, L R. and Knapp, E E., "Potential for Improved Honey Bee Pollination Efficiency from Easy-to-Trip lucerne" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 39.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1993/session45/39
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Potential for Improved Honey Bee Pollination Efficiency from Easy-to-Trip lucerne
The principal pollinator of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) in California, USA is the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). However, honey bees are notoriously inefficient pollinators of lucerne because they learn to avoid tripping the floret. Easy-to-trip lucerne florets could reduce this problem. These studies were designed to determine the inheritance of ease of tripping and assess the effect of ease of tripping on the rate of outcrossing. Both additive and digenic variance for ease of tripping were significant, resulting in a heritability of 34.0:1:16.2%. Ease of tripping had no influence on outcrossing rate, which was estimated to average 74.7%. Selection for easy-to-trip lucerne populations should enhance seed production without an increase in inbreeding, and therefore it should not be detrimental to subsequent forage production.
