Rweyemamu Elvillah William, Kabota Sija, Tryphone George Muhamba, De Meyer Marc, Mwatawala Maulid Walad
Department of Crop Science and Horticulture, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro, Tanzania.
Research, Consultancy and Publication Unit, National Sugar Institute (NSI), Kidatu-Morogoro, Tanzania.
PLoS One. 2025 May 12;20(5):e0322219. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0322219. eCollection 2025.
Cucurbit production in many parts of the world is constrained by the absence of effective pollinators. Due to the decline of European honey bees (Apis mellifera), main pollinators of cucurbits, there is a need to explore other cucurbits flowers visiting insects to supplement pollination services and for their conservation. Studies were carried out in the two agroecological zones of Morogoro Region, Eastern - Central Tanzania. We assessed visitation abundance, visitation frequency and visitation rate of four cucurbits flowers visiting insects under the family Syrphidae [Eristalinus megacephalus, Mesembrius caffer, Paragus borbonicus and Toxomerus floralis] and A. mellifera on cucumber (Cucumis sativus), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and squash (Cucurbita moschata). Field trials were conducted in a 5 × 3 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design for two seasons. Results showed significant effects of the interaction between agroecological zones × cucurbit species × season × flowers visiting insects on visitation abundance, visitation frequency and visitation rate (p < 0.0001) of flower visiting species. Apis mellifera was the dominant species in cucurbit flowers at both agroecological zones during the two growing seasons. Given its relatively higher visitation, T. floralis is a promising hoverfly species to be explored for its role in the pollination of C. sativus and C. lanatus. Agroecological zone, season and cucurbit species determined the visitation of European honey bees and hoverflies on cucurbits flowers. Cucurbit growers are suggested to employ management practices on farms that favour the abundance and foraging activities of these flower visiting insects for improved and sustainable cucurbit production.
世界许多地区的葫芦科作物生产受到有效传粉者缺失的限制。由于葫芦科作物的主要传粉者欧洲蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）数量下降，有必要探索其他访花昆虫来补充授粉服务并对其进行保护。研究在坦桑尼亚中东部莫罗戈罗地区的两个农业生态区开展。我们评估了食蚜蝇科的四种葫芦科作物访花昆虫[大头部食蚜蝇（Eristalinus megacephalus）、南非花蝇（Mesembrius caffer）、波旁食蚜蝇（Paragus borbonicus）和花翅食蚜蝇（Toxomerus floralis）]以及欧洲蜜蜂对黄瓜（Cucumis sativus）、西瓜（Citrullus lanatus）和南瓜（Cucurbita moschata）的访花丰度、访花频率和访花率。田间试验采用5×3×2×2析因设计，在随机完全区组设计中进行了两个季节的试验。结果表明，农业生态区×葫芦科作物种类×季节×访花昆虫之间的相互作用对访花物种的访花丰度、访花频率和访花率有显著影响（p＜0.0001）。在两个生长季节中，欧洲蜜蜂都是两个农业生态区葫芦科作物花朵中的优势物种。鉴于其相对较高的访花率，花翅食蚜蝇是一种有潜力的食蚜蝇物种，可探索其在黄瓜和西瓜授粉中的作用。农业生态区、季节和葫芦科作物种类决定了欧洲蜜蜂和食蚜蝇对葫芦科作物花朵的访花情况。建议葫芦科作物种植者在农场采用有利于这些访花昆虫数量和觅食活动的管理措施，以提高葫芦科作物产量并实现可持续生产。
