Increasing The Use of Bumble Bee (Bombus terrestris) In Greenhouse Cultivation in DOKAP Provinces

Abstract

In greenhouse cultivation, the inability to ensure adequate and high-quality pollina-tion leads to problems such as reduced fruit set, fruit deformities, and yield losses. Under greenhouse conditions, particularly in tomato production, limited air move-ment and low temperatures substantially restrict natural pollination in tomato plants. For this reason, the use of biological pollinators in protected agriculture has gained increasing importance in recent years. In Türkiye, the use of Bombus bees for pollination has become widespread in the Mediterranean and Aegean Regions, where greenhouse cultivation is intensive. The primary aim of this study was to promote the use of Bombus terrestris in other regions and to determine its effects. Within this scope, the study was conducted by the Apiculture Research Institute, affiliated with the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies, with support from the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Türkiye and the Eastern Black Sea Project Regional Development Administration (DOKAP). The study was carried out in the provinces of Artvin, Bayburt, Gümüşhane, Trabzon, Giresun, Ordu, Samsun, Tokat, Amasya, and Çorum, where the use of bumble bees is limited. Field applications were implemented in a total of 47 tomato-producing enterprises, and 100 bumble bee colonies were used. In the study, bee-free plots were established by isolating the areas in a way that pre-vented bee entry, and the growth status of tomato seedlings under both environ-mental conditions was recorded. For harvested tomatoes, fruit length and width, color, weight per fruit, pH, and °Brix values were measured. The results showed that, in nearly all provinces, there were statistically significant differences in length, width, color, and weight per fruit in the with bees plots (P<0.05). In contrast, no significant differences were detected in pH and °Brix values (P>0.05). Overall, the findings in-dicated that the use of bumble bees improved certain quality traits in tomatoes, while it did not produce a marked change in some chemical characteristics.