Published in Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LXI, Issue 1
Written by Nicoleta ION, Răzvan COMAN, Viorel ION
Apart the linden trees are important as source of wood and have medicinal and ornamental uses, they are also important from the melliferous point of view, being a good source of food for melliferous insects as well as an important honey source for beekeepers. Among the different linden species, the silver linden is appreciated to have a good melliferous potential. Taking into account these aspects, the aim of this study was to investigate the melliferous potential of the silver linden trees (Tilia tomentosa Moench.) growing in the forests from South Romania. In this respect, a study was carried out in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 in two forests located in South Romania. The following parameters were analyzed: 1) the average sugar yield of the silver linden flowers, which is given by the quantity of nectar secreted by the flowers and the nectar concentration in sugar; 2) the number of flowers per silver linden tree and per hectare; 3) the lifespan of the silver linden flowers. Our study performed in the two forests from South Romania showed the good melliferous potential of the silver linden trees, which was in average of 318 kg.ha-1 of honey, respectively 0.76 kg of honey per linden tree. However, it must be taken into account the influence on this good melliferous potential of the silver linden trees determined by the climatic conditions of the year and the number of flowers the linden trees can produce in the respectively year, as well as the number of linden trees from the forest.
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