The importance of honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica Poll.) in pollination and seed yield of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.).

Alfalfa is the most important forage crop and its seed yield potential exceeds 1000 kg ha-1. This high yield is very rarely achieved in practice, primarily due to poor pollination of alfalfa flowers which is a result of morphological traits of flower, low self fertilization and insufficient presence of adequate pollinators. Pollination of alfalfa and provision of pollinators are the most important moments in the seed production. Honey bee, due to its abundance, its range and mobility, although not the most effective pollinator in our agro-ecological conditions, is a significant factor in the production of alfalfa seed. Problems that arise during pollination of alfalfa by honey bee, led many authors to pay attention to the pollination of this crop. The importance of honey bees in the pollination of alfalfa, according to different authors, ranged from slight to very high impact. This paper presents the results obtained by use of honey bee colonies in alfalfa pollination, as well as additional measures to enhance pollination and have an impact on yield and yield components of alfalfa seeds. The number of other pollinators (solitary bees, bumblebees, etc.) was also observed in addition to the honey bee.