Effect of shade cover and availability of midge breeding sites on pollinating midge populations and fruit set in two cocoa farms
(1) The abundance of several species of Forcipomyia midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), known to be pollinators of cocoa, increased markedly in one cocoa farm when discs of rotten banana stems were added to the ground-litter, but not in another. The addition of other potential midge breeding habitats, cocoa pod husks, cocoa leaves, and artificial bromeliads, produced no increases in midge populations in either farm. (2) The increase in numbers of midge larvae and pupae associated with rotten banana stems occurred in one farm that had a shade cover consisting of an open canopy of bananas mixed with various wild trees, produced many cocoa flowers, and had a large number of midge species. The other farm had a uniform and homogenous shade cover of Hevea rubber trees, produced few cocoa flowers, and had only a few species of the midges. (3) There was marked improvement in fruit set for cocoa trees near sites, in the farm where midges were increased, presumably a result of increased pollinator activity. (4) These observations are probably of general application. A cocoa farm with a heterogenous shade cover can be expected to have a larger resident pool of pollinating midge species. Rotten banana stems will usually be limited as breeding sites for cocoa-pollinating midges but the abundance of the midges is a limiting factor in the pollination of cocoa
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| Format: | biblioteca |
| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
Londres (RU): British Ecological Society,
1982
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| Subjects: | POLINIZACION, THEOBROMA CACAO, FORCIPOMYIA, POLINIZADORES, DINAMICA DE POBLACIONES, SOMBRA, PLANTAS DE SOMBRA, MUSA, HEVEA, CERATOPOGONIDAE, COSTA RICA, |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2307/2402990 |
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