Evaluating honey bee products as an indicator of managed pollination studies: a case study about allium cepa l.

Allium cepa (onion) is a monocotyledonous plant which belongs to the family Liliaceae. Although self-pollination frequently occurs, most plants are highly self-incompatible. There are several studies about the managed honeybees increasing the seed yield of onion.In this study, the honey bee products which were obtained from the hives located in the onion fields examined. The honeybees were managed by the producers to increase seed yield. Our aim was to evaluate the composition of honey and honeybee pollen to decide if the honeybees foraged on Allium cepa or on the other plants during the flowering time of onion. As a result of the melissopalynological analysis, it was determined that Liliaceae pollen was minor with the ratio of 7,2 % in honey and not found in honeybee sample