The importance of single floral visit of Chalicodoma cincta cincta Fabricius 1871 (Hymenoptera : Megachilidae) in the pollination and yield of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. 1843 (Fabaceae) in Cameroon

Abstract Experiments were made in Yaoundé to determine the effects of a Chalicodoma cincta cincta Fabricius 1871 visit on the pollination and the productivity of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. 1843. Two treatments for each experiment were used on 40 randomly-selected plants each. These included Autonomous Self-Pollination (ASP) with flowers from which insects visit, with airborne pollen flow excluded (treatments 1 and 3), flowers that received a single bee visit (SBV) of C. cincta cincta (treatments 2 and 4). This wild bee mainly foraged for nectar and pollen resources. The mean foraging speed was 10.82 flowers/min and the duration of visits was 13.35 sec to collect nectar and pollen. All flowers produced pod with or without insect visits. Chalicodoma cincta cincta was effective pollinator, and of course their visits increased pod production (fruiting rate), number of seeds (number of seeds/pod) and normal seed (percentage of normal seed). Chalicodoma cincta cincta foraging resulted in a significant increment of the fruiting rate by 31.98 %, as well as the number of seeds/pod by 30.76 % and the percentage of normal seeds by 15.27 % in Yaoundé-Cameroon. Conservation of C. cincta cincta nests close to V. unguiculata fields could be recommended to increase pod and seed production in the region.