PROVISION OF BEE POLLINATION OF THE MAIN AGRICULTURAL ENTOMOPHILIC CROPS IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The provision of bee pollination of the main entomophilous crops in Ukraine (sunflower, buckwheat, rape) has been studied and the necessity of its use in agricultural production has been scientifically substantiated. According to the objectives of the study, the structure of sown areas of major agricultural entomophilic crops in Ukraine in 1990 and 2020 was calculated, the dynamics of sown areas of major agricultural entomophilic crops, the number of bee families in Ukraine for the period from 1990 to 2020 and the yield of sunflower and rapeseed in Ukraine for the last five years (2017–2020). The number of bee colonies per 1 hectare of sunflower, rapeseed and buckwheat was calculated and the security of their bee pollination was analyzed. For this purpose, data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine on the presence of bee colonies, sown areas of sunflower, rape and buckwheat for the last thirty years (1990-2020) were used, excluding the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Sevastopol and part of the temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk. and Luhansk regions. Analysis of bee pollination of the main entomophilous crops in Ukraine shows that there are 13.5 bee colonies per 1 hectare of buckwheat, 3.4 rapeseed rape, and 0.4 per hectare of sunflower. Existing bee colonies are critically short of buckwheat nectar for a full bribe, and there are not enough bee colonies for full sunflower pollination. Although on average there are enough bee colonies in the country to pollinate winter oilseed rape, but because their distribution is uneven, they are lacking in some oblasts, in particular, in Volyn, Chernihiv, Odesa, Kherson, Ternopil, Lviv, and Kyiv. In these areas per 1 hectare of this crop there are from 0.9 to 1.8 bee colonies. The most difficult situation in Ukraine with sunflower pollination, especially in eleven regions (Luhansk, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kirovohrad, Odessa, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Donetsk), where 1 hectare of crops of this crop has from 0.1 up to 0.4 bee families. In Poltava and Cherkasy regions this indicator is at the level of the lower limit (0.5), in other regions it ranges from 0.6 to 22.8. This situation, along with other factors, negatively affects the yield of sunflower and rapeseed in Ukraine. The use of controlled bee pollination, in contrast to the extensive way of production, will avoid irrational use of soil as one of the most important natural resources of the state. This will ensure economic growth and promote the implementation of state environmental policy of Ukraine.