How Much Area of a Pear Orchard Can One Honey Bee Colony Pollinate?

Xinying Qu, Xinru Zhang, Rongshen Wang, Yuesen Wang, Qingfang Cheng, Yaxiong Xu, Lingjun Xin, Hanbing Lu and Xiao Chen ()
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Xinying Qu: State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Xinru Zhang: College of Bioscience and Resource Environment, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China
Rongshen Wang: Shijiazhuang Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center, Shijiazhuang 050026, China
Yuesen Wang: Hebei Ruiyuan Bee Industry Co., Ltd., Shijiazhuang 051230, China
Qingfang Cheng: Hebei Lezhitang Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Shijiazhuang 051530, China
Yaxiong Xu: Hebei Lezhitang Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Shijiazhuang 051530, China
Lingjun Xin: College of Bioscience and Resource Environment, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China
Hanbing Lu: State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Xiao Chen: State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-11

Abstract: Pear trees, though self-pollinating, are self-incompatible and depend on insect pollination—primarily by honey bees. The optimal density of honey bee colonies per unit area in pear orchards remains uncertain, hindering scientific pollination management. This study in Zhao County, Hebei, compared honey bee ( Apis mellifea ligustica ), artificial, and natural pollination effects on pear yield and fruit size. Honey bee pollination achieved a higher, more stable fruit set (inflorescence fruit set rate was 71.52%), increased yield, and significantly improved fruit size—in transverse diameter (90.96 mm), longitudinal diameter (92.48 mm), and single-fruit weight (407.39 g)—compared with natural pollination. Although the fruit set rates and fruit quality of bee-pollinated pears were not significantly higher than those of artificially pollinated pears, the data still demonstrated the advantages of honey bee pollination. One bee colony (containing ~20,000 honey bees) was found to pollinate approximately 3846.5 m 2 of a pear orchard. This provides data-supported guidance for the scientific allocation of pollinating honey bee colonies in future pear orchard pollination practices.

Keywords: Xuehua pear; pollination; honey bee; fruit set rate; fruit quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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