Detecting bee’s floral preference in cashew orchards: A path towards preservation and management of bee communities and improvement of cashew productivity in Côte d’Ivoire

In spite of the low agronomic performances of Ivorian cashew orchards, Côte d'Ivoire recently became the first worldwide producer and exporter of raw cashew nuts. To maintain this ringleader position, several factors should be understood including the ecological factors supporting this success. Pollination service due to bees was recognized to impact cashew production. Therefore, determining cashew trees that are more attractive to bees can contribute to promote pollination activities. To detect these cashew trees possessing the flowers preferred by bees, two types of investigations were undertaken: (1) a socioeconomic survey in 3167 cashew hectares belonging to 381 producers and (2) an experimental detection of the bees’ floral preference. As results, 58 of the 381 interviewed producers had identified the bees’ floral preference resulting in a detection of 681 cashew trees. The flowers of the preferred cashew trees were visited 5 times more and they attracted 3 times more bee foragers as compared to nonpreferred cashew trees. These findings may be included in research programs focus on: (i) improvement of agronomic performances and (ii) effective management of bees’ community

bees’ floral preference, preferred cashew trees, non-preferred cashew trees