TITLE:
Contribution of Floral Visit of Apis mellifera (Apidae) on the Yield of Cucurbita maxima (Cucurbitaceae) in Torok and Vogzom in Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Hebri Sanda, Hyacinthe Angoni, Haman Zéphirin Oumarou, Abdouraman, Nentcherse Mbere, Effa Joseph Messi, Menkamla Albert Tchopwe, Benoît Maralossou, Ela Michelson Azo’o
KEYWORDS:
Cucurbita maxima, Apis mellifera, Pollination Efficiency, Yields, Vogzom
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.12 No.11,
November
28,
2025
ABSTRACT: In two locations in Torok (Far North) and Vogzom (North) in Cameroon, during the 2022 agricultural campaign, the flowers of C. maxima were observed to study the activity of Apis mellifera and evaluate its impact on the fruit and grain yield of this plant. For each site, 90 female flowers at the bud stage were labeled on 36 plants divided into five treatments: 30 female flowers left to pollinate freely (T1); 30 blooming female flowers isolated from visits by A. mellifera (T0); 10 female flowers each having benefited from a single visit by bees (T2); 10 female flowers each having benefited from two simultaneous visits by bees (T3) and 10 female flowers each having benefited from three simultaneous visits by bees (T4). The fruiting rate, the average number of seeds per fruit and the percentage of mature seeds were compared between these treatments. The results show that among the insect species recorded on the flowers of C. maxima; A. mellifera occupied the first place in both Torok (48.67%) and Vogzom (49.07%) and collected pollen and nectar every day during the flowering period. Flower visits for nectar collection (78.78% and 67.09%) were more frequent than those for pollen (3.97% and 2.85%) in A. mellifera in both Vogzom and Torok. Via its pollinating efficiency on C. maxima, the fruiting rate attributable to the pollinating activity of A. mellifera was 0% in treatment (T0) (isolated flowers), 93.33% in treatment (T1) (free flowers), 43.33% in (T2) (one visit), 56.66% in (T3) (two visits) and 73.33% in (T4) (three visits). The mature fruit rate was 0% in treatments (T0) and (T2), 80.77% in (T1), 5.88% in (T3) and 18.19% in (T4). The average mass and average number of normal seeds per fruit were 4.26 Kg and 255.31 seeds in (T1), 0.11 Kg and 5.55 seeds in (T3), and 0.87 Kg and 28.76 seeds in (T4), respectively.