Question:

Number of bee hives required for effective pollination in case of strawberry

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Incomplete pollination in strawberries leads to "malformed" or misshapen fruit.
Maintaining $2 - 5$ bee hives per hectare supports uniform fruit development and higher crop quality.
  • 2 - 5
  • 8 - 10
  • 12 - 15
  • 25 or more
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The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Strawberry plants are self-fertile but benefit from insect pollination to achieve optimal fruit set, size, and shape.
Honeybees are primary pollinators for strawberries, and introducing managed hives is a common management practice.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

The strawberry flower contains multiple pistils on a central receptacle, and each must be fertilized to develop an achene (seed).
If pollination is incomplete, the receptacle tissue around the unfertilized achenes fails to grow, resulting in small, misshapen, or malformed fruit.
Introducing managed honeybee hives (Apis mellifera or Apis cerana) ensures consistent pollination across the field.
Studies show that $2\text{ to }5$ active honeybee hives per hectare provide sufficient pollination for open-field strawberry crops.
A higher density of hives is generally unnecessary, while fewer than 2 hives can lead to under-pollination and a higher percentage of deformed fruit.

Step 3: Final Answer:

The recommended number of bee hives for strawberry pollination is $2 - 5$ per hectare, which corresponds to Option (A).
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