KUBERAPPA, G. C.RAMESH, R.G.2017-07-102017-07-102009-07-05Th-9599http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810024840The floral biology, insect pollinators and their abundance, quantity and quality o f nectar, foraging activity, number o f bee visits and stigmatic receptivity and impact o f different modes o f pollination on quantitative and qualitative parameters in ridge gourd varieties viz., Arka sumeet and Arka sujath was studied at Division o f Horticulture, UAS, GKVK, Bangalore during 2007. Twentyone insect species were found during flowering period. Among them, honeybees constituted about 78.90 per cent o f the total population. The quantity o f nectar gradually increased with the advancement o f time and reach maximum at 0900 h in both staminate and pistillate flowers. The maximum foraging activity o f A cerana indica was observed at 0900 h and at 1000 h in case o f A. florea and T. iridipennis, ceased at 1600 h in both varieties. The time spent for foraging on pistillate flowers was maximum compared to staminate flowers. The higher fruit set, fruit weight, fruit volume, fruit length, number o f sound seeds per fruit and test weight o f seeds was recorded, when the number o f bee visits were eight per flower. The stigmatic receptivity was maximum at 0900 h and there was no fruit set in control plot. The maximum fruit set, fruit weight, fruit volume, number of sound seeds, test weight o f seeds, moisture content and germination per cent was recorded in hand pollination at 0900 h, whereas the maximum fruit length, ash content was recorded in open pollination. The total soluble sugar was 8 to 10 per cent in all modes of pollination.ennullThesis