06 Oca 2025 Pazartesi
Floral visitor interactions and diversity on selected vegetable plant species in agro-ecosystem from Kerala, India
Abstract : This study investigates the floral visitors and potential pollinators of four selected vegetable plant species. We observed 10 plants of each species to catalog floral visitors and assess their pollination roles based on visitation rates. The study utilized the Simpson's diversity index (SDI), Shannon-Wiener index (SWI), and Chi-square analysis to interpret the data. We recorded 14 distinct floral visitors spanning 7 families within 3 orders: Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera. Notably, Apidae, Vespidae, Formicidae, Chrysomelidae, Hesperiidae, Halictidae, and Curculionidae were among the observed families. Benincasa hispida exhibited the highest diversity of floral visitors (11 species), likely attributable to its large petal size. In contrast, the other plants attracted four visitor species each. The study revealed significant variability in visitation rates across plant species (P < 0.005). Tetragonula iridipennis and Campnotus sp. were common visitors, with Tetragonula iridipennis identified as a consistent probable pollinator for all studied plants. Diversity indices demonstrated that Benincasa hispida had the highest SDI (0.8861) and SWI (2.26), surpassing Solanum melongena (0.7496 and 1.386), Abelmoschus esculentus (0.7249 and 1.328), and Capsicum frutescens (0.7449 and 1.376). These findings highlight the complex interactions between floral morphology, visitor diversity, and pollinator effectiveness, providing valuable insights into plant-pollinator dynamics in the region.