Determination of the Potential of Some Legume Forage Crops as Bee Pasture

This study was carried out to investigate the potential of some cultivated legume forage crops to be used as bee pasture. Hungarian vetch (Vicia pannonica Crantz), sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.), and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) were used as plant materials. The study was conducted during the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 growing seasons under the ecological conditions of Bingöl. In the first year, Hungarian vetch was the first plant visited by bees, while sainfoin and white clover were visited around the same time. In the second year, sainfoin was the first, followed closely by Hungarian vetch and white clover. Based on two-year averages, white clover was open to bee visitation for 54 days, sainfoin for 34 days, and Hungarian vetch for 16 days. The average number of honeybee visits over the two years was 19.9 in Hungarian vetch, 36.35 in sainfoin, and 39.65 in white clover. Differences in the number of bee visits, time spent on the flower, and the number of flowers per m2 in 2021 and 2022 were statistically significant for all three forage crops. In 2021, plant height was found statistically insignificant. According to two-year average correlation data, the time bees spent on the flowers and the number of flowers per square meter in all plants. As a result, it was concluded that the forage plants used in the study have the potential to be used as a bee pasture, serving both as a roughage and as forage for bees. This approach may offer an alternative to reduce or eliminate itinerant beekeeping. Additionally, the use of these plants as a honeybee pasture in Bingöl and similar ecological conditions would be beneficial for both productivity and producers. However, as this is one of the first studies on bee pasture, further research is recommended.