Nectar secretion and honey production potential of Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) cultivars

Abstract

This is the first reported study aimed at nectar secretion of Satsuma mandarin cultivars from Croatia. The study was conducted in 2014-2016 on four cultivars: Kawano Wase, Okitsu, Chahara and Zorica. Nectar was collected at six measurements per day at two-hour intervals (8:00-18:00) for a total of 12 days. The mean values of nectar quantity per flower were higher in Okitsu (23.41 μL) and Kawano Wase (22.79 μL) cultivars and were not statistically different (P > 0.05) from the other cultivars, while a significant difference (P 0.05). The average sugar content in flowers of all Satsuma mandarin cultivars ranged from 4.13 mg to 4.96 mg. Sugar yield ranged from 240.8 kg/ha to 289.2 kg/ha and honey yield ranged from 301 kg/ha to 361.5 kg/ha. The present study shows that the studied cultivars of Satsuma mandarin are very attractive to honey bees due to the large number of flowers producing a large amount of nectar and that the Neretva Valley is a very good area for the production of this rare unifloral type of honey.

Keywords

• citrus unshiu
• nectar secretion
• honey yield
• croatia