How Much Area of a Pear Orchard Can One Honey Bee Colony Pollinate?

Pear trees, though self-pollinating, are self-incompatible and depend on insect pollination—primarily by honey bees. The optimal density of honey bee colonies per unit area in pear orchards remains uncertain, hindering scientific pollination management. This study in Zhao County, Hebei, compared honey bee (Apis mellifea ligustica), artificial, and natural pollination effects on pear yield and fruit size. Honey bee pollination achieved a higher, more stable fruit set (inflorescence fruit set rate was 71.52%), increased yield, and significantly improved fruit size—in transverse diameter (90.96 mm), longitudinal diameter (92.48 mm), and single-fruit weight (407.39 g)—compared with natural pollination. Although the fruit set rates and fruit quality of bee-pollinated pears were not significantly higher than those of artificially pollinated pears, the data still demonstrated the advantages of honey bee pollination. One bee colony (containing ~20,000 honey bees) was found to pollinate approximately 3846.5 m2 of a pear orchard. This provides data-supported guidance for the scientific allocation of pollinating honey bee colonies in future pear orchard pollination practices.