Variation in Floral Nectar Traits of Four Chestnut ( Castanea spp.) Cultivars: Implications for Pollinators and Apiculture

Ji-Min Park, Hyun-Jun Kim, Sang-Jae Won and Sung-Joon Na ()
Additional contact information
Ji-Min Park: Department of Forest Bioresources, National Institute of Forest Science, Suwon 16631, Republic of Korea
Hyun-Jun Kim: Department of Forest Bioresources, National Institute of Forest Science, Suwon 16631, Republic of Korea
Sang-Jae Won: Department of Forest Bioresources, National Institute of Forest Science, Suwon 16631, Republic of Korea
Sung-Joon Na: Department of Forest Bioresources, National Institute of Forest Science, Suwon 16631, Republic of Korea

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 22, 1-21

Abstract: Pollinator nutrition and honey production potential depend on nectar quantity, nectar availability across flowering phases, and sugar concentration. For chestnut ( Castanea spp.), cultivar- and flowering phase-specific nectar data remain limited. This study analyzed nectar traits of four Castanea cultivars to evaluate their potential importance for pollinators and apiculture. A two-year field study (2023–2024) was conducted on four major South Korean cultivars (‘Daebo’, ‘Okkwang’, ‘Riheiguri’, ‘Tsukuba’) to quantify catkin floral traits, nectar volume, free sugar concentration (sucrose, glucose, fructose), and estimated nectar yields across four flowering phases. Standardized catkin-scale sampling and multivariate modeling revealed that flowering phase, rather than catkin size, determined nectar rewards in all cultivars. Nectar volume and sugar concentration per catkin peaked at mid anthesis (phase 3), while sugar concentration and hexose proportion increased in late anthesis (phase 4). ‘Daebo’ led in phase 3 nectar yields, ‘Okkwang’ was intermediate, and ‘Tsukuba’ and ‘Riheiguri’ provided more hexose-rich, concentrated nectar during phase 4. Notably, cultivar × flowering phase interactions determined both the amount and sugar profile of nectar resources. These findings indicate that phase 3 measurements are optimal for yield comparisons, while phase 4 profiles guide honey chemistry and handling. Mixed-cultivar plantings combining ‘Daebo’ (high honey yield) with late-phase hexose sources (‘Riheiguri’, ‘Tsukuba’) can help stabilize pollinator resources.

Keywords: cultivar comparison; nectar secretion; sugar concentration; honeybee foraging; pollinator support (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
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/22/2358/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/22/2358/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:22:p:2358-:d:1794031

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().