EVALUATION OF YIELD COMPONENT TRAITS OF HONEYBEE-POLLINATED (Apis mellifera L.) RAPESEED CANOLA (Brassica napus L.)

Recent introduction of hybrid varieties raises the question if bees (Apis mellifera L.) contribute as pollinator agents in developing the full yield potential of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). In order to evaluate the yield achieved by B. napus cv. Artus pollinated by A. mellifera testing was carried out in the district of Freire, La Araucania Region, Chile. This consisted in isolating or excluding rapeseed plants from pollinators with exclusion cages. Treatments applied were total exclusion (T1), partial exclusion (T2) and free pollination (TO) with a density of 6.5 hives ha-1, in order to determine the following yield components traits: grains per silique, siliques per plant, lOOO grain weight and yield. The experimental design used was randomized complete blocks with three treatments and three replicates. Results obtained show that the parameter least affected by bee intervention was the grains per silique variable. In contrast, siliques per plant and lOOO grain weight parameters presented significant differences, contributing to a yield greater than 5 t ha-1; which represented a figure 5O.34% higher than in the treatment without bees. It may be concluded that the inclusion of bees in crops is fully justified as a production tool.