Publication Date
1989
Description
The increasing use of insecticides in the Yugoslav agriculture, ploughing of meadows and pastures and the expansion of areas under alfalfa grown for seed have resulted in the reduction of useful entomofauna and thus also in the decline of yields of alfalfa seed due to the reduced number of pollinators. This was first indicated upon in the United States, by Knowels, 1943, and in Yugoslavia, it was pointed out by Bosnjak, 1978 and Radenovic and Starcevic, 1982. All these authors agree that there is a positive correlation between the number of Megachillidae, the number of open flowers and embryos. According to the US data, 60-75000 Megachilla rotundata bees per hectare increase the yield of alfalfa seed by 50-100 per cent.
Citation
Radenovic, B and STARCEVIC, S, "The Effect of Megachilla rotundata on the Yield and Qualitative Characters of Alfalfa Seed" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 16.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1989/session5/16
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
The Effect of Megachilla rotundata on the Yield and Qualitative Characters of Alfalfa Seed
The increasing use of insecticides in the Yugoslav agriculture, ploughing of meadows and pastures and the expansion of areas under alfalfa grown for seed have resulted in the reduction of useful entomofauna and thus also in the decline of yields of alfalfa seed due to the reduced number of pollinators. This was first indicated upon in the United States, by Knowels, 1943, and in Yugoslavia, it was pointed out by Bosnjak, 1978 and Radenovic and Starcevic, 1982. All these authors agree that there is a positive correlation between the number of Megachillidae, the number of open flowers and embryos. According to the US data, 60-75000 Megachilla rotundata bees per hectare increase the yield of alfalfa seed by 50-100 per cent.
