Diversidade de abelhas em plantas atrativas consorciadas em agroecossistema cafeeiro

Abstract

Coffee crop is currently the most traded commodity in the world and the second with the highest market value, second only to petroleum. Brazil accounts for 30% of world production and is the largest producer and exporter of coffee in the world. Several studies report the increase in productivity and quality of agricultural crops when subjected to bees pollination. However, to have pollinators in agricultural crops must have constant availability of floral resources, refuge and nidification places. Thus, environments with a shortage of floral resources create a hostile environment for pollinators to nest and reproduce. Therefore, a diversity of plant species with different inflorescence characteristics is necessary to generate abundance and a constant supply of floral resources. This work was carried out with the objective of evaluating the bees fauna dynamics (Apoidea: Apiformes) on different attractive plants in coffee agroecosystem. The present work was carried out on the campus of the Federal University of Lavras, located in the municipality of Lavras-MG, South of Minas Gerais. Plants associated with coffee were established as treatment, namely: Coriandrum sativum (Coriander) Aztec cultivar; Crotalaria breviflora (Crotalaria); Raphanus sativus (Turnip); Ocimun basilicum (Basil) folha fina cultivar; spontaneous plants of natural growth (Spontaneous); beds of bare soil (weeding) were also established. Each treatment was established in beds of 7.5 m² (5.0 x 1.5 m) between the lines of coffee tree. Active collections were carried out with sweep-net every 14 days, interspersed with passive collections, which were also performed with pan traps (transparent). In all, 24 collections were made, totaling 1152 samples. Bee fauna data were submitted to fauna analysis and compared statistically by variance analysis. The variance analysis of the abundance data shows that the factors: treatment, time of collection and number of collection over time were significant. The basil treatment showed a statistically significant difference from the other treatments (p <0.001), it had a higher bees abundance, representing 34.9% of the total collected individuals. There was a predominance of 74% of bees in the subtribe Meliponina, which reveals the great importance of this group for the pollination of coffee crops and native plants. Similarity rates (Bray-Curtis) are relatively low between treatments. The index that showed a relatively expressive similarity was between basil and turnip (Similarity = 0.64). Basil can increase the wealth and abundance of bees in agroecosystems and can be an option for coffee producers for the pollinators conservation.