Bee Visits, Crossing Frequencies and Yield Structure of Field Beans (Vicia faba) with Closed Flower Character

The frequency and foraging behaviour of honeybees in field beans with the closed character and in recommended varieties with normal flowers were investigated in both pure stands and in fields with alternating plots of field beans with the two flower types in 1978 and 1979. The mean number of honeybees per unit area was three to four times higher in fields and plots with normal flowered plants than in those with closed flowered. Pure stands of closed flowered field beans were only visited by pollen collecting honeybees but in 1979 closed flowered plants in alternating plots were visited by nectar collectors, although these plants do not contain any nectar.