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Identifying the Major Insect Pollinators of Allium cepa Flowers in Selected Gardens of Kano State, Nigeria

Author Affiliations

  • 1Biology Department, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil
  • 2Biological Science Department, Bayero University Kano

Int. Res. J. Biological Sci., Volume 9, Issue (4), Pages 59-63, November,10 (2020)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to assess the major insect pollinators of Allium. cepa seed plantations based on visitation frequency. The study was conducted in three selected gardens in Kano State, Nigeria. Ten umbels were randomly selected; for the observation of insects composition and abundance visiting the flowers by counting and recording the identity of every insect seen on the flower for 15 minutes. The observations were done for one month at weekly interval, from mid March, 2020 to mid April, 2020. A total of twelve observations were made, four from each garden. The results of study shows that Yanbukar garden has the highest significant (p<0.05) number of insects visiting A.cepa flower while Anisoptera and Coccinellidae are not found there. The least significant (p<0.05) number of insects on the flowers were recorded on Darmanawa garden with Caelifera and Anisoptera absent. However, Diptera has the highest significant (p<0.05) number recorded among the other insects. This was followed by Apis which was also significantly high (p<0.05) as compared to other insects. The Poisson distribution fit of model also indicated that there many number Diptera and Apis in the observations than the model will predict. Therefore, Diptera have highest visitation frequencies as compared to Apis on A. cepa seed plantation and this is a crucial component in evaluating pollination activity of a pollinator.

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