ABSTRACT

Several factors influence fruit set and yield in strawberry production. Bees play an important role in pollinating strawberry flowers; however, bee populations are decreasing due to air pollution and high usage of pesticides. Boron (B) can increase fruit set by improving pollen viability, germination, and pollen tube growth. This study aimed to assess how the application of honey bees and B fertilizer affects yields and marketable fruit quality of Fortuna strawberry cultivar. The experiment used two strawberry growing tunnels. One was open, thus allowing bee activity, and the other was closed, which meant that bees could not access the strawberry flowers. Each tunnel had different B applications. The presence of bees increased the total fruit yield per plant by 54% compared to the results of plants that were not pollinated by bees. Plants treated with bees yielded bigger fruit than those without bee treatment, which is likely a result of more achenes having been fertilized. Fruit formation, however, did not depend directly on pollinator activity. Both in the presence and absence of bees, applying B to the soil increased yields and decreased misshapen fruit rates. Applying B to the soil was more effective than B foliar applications. As a result of this study, it is demonstrated that strawberry plants perform at a higher rate with the application of B and the presence of bee activity.

摘要

有几个因素影响草莓生产中的坐果和产量。蜜蜂在给草莓花授粉中起重要作用。然而，由于空气污染和农药的大量使用，蜜蜂的数量正在减少。硼（B）可以通过改善花粉的活力，发芽和花粉管的生长来增加坐果。这项研究旨在评估蜜蜂和B肥料的施用如何影响Fortuna草莓品种的产量和可销售的水果品质。该实验使用了两个草莓生长隧道。一个是开放的，从而允许蜜蜂活动，另一个是封闭的，这意味着蜜蜂无法接近草莓花。每个隧道都有不同的B应用程序。与没有被蜜蜂授粉的植物相比，蜜蜂的存在使每株植物的总果实产量增加了54％。用蜜蜂处理过的植物比未用蜜蜂处理过的植物产生更大的果实，这可能是由于施肥了更多的瘦果而导致的结果。但是，果实的形成并不直接取决于传粉媒介的活动。在有或没有蜜蜂的情况下，在土壤上施用B均可提高产量，降低畸形率。在土壤上施用B比在叶面施用B更有效。这项研究的结果表明，在施用B和蜜蜂活性的情况下，草莓植株的生长速率更高。在土壤上施用B可以增加产量，降低畸形率。在土壤上施用B比在叶面施用B更有效。这项研究的结果表明，在施用B和蜜蜂活性的情况下，草莓植株的生长速率更高。在土壤上施用B可以增加产量，降低畸形率。在土壤上施用B比在叶面施用B更有效。这项研究的结果表明，在施用B和蜜蜂活性的情况下，草莓植株的生长速率更高。