Honeybee pollination of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) cv. Haifa

Abstract

The role of honeybees (Apis mellifera) in the pollination of white clover cv. Haifa was studied in a commercial planting at Mount Mercer, Victoria. Honeybees comprised 88% of all insect visitors to this crop. The activity of honeybees and native bees (Lasioglossum sp.) increased seed yield from 1.3 g/plot (plots closed to bees) to 40.3 g/plot (plots open to bees). The caging of plots for part of the flowering period to simulate the non-availability of bees for pollination resulted in lower seed yields than those from uncaged plots.