Study on the Chemical Component and Content of Nectar from Different Rapeseed Cultivars (Brassica napus L.)

Purpose In this study, five rapeseed cultivars, DZY16, DY1, HY8, ZY511 and HAZ were used as the test materials to analyze their secretion, chemical component and content of nectar, which provided a theoretical basis for study on the effects of rapeseed nectar on seed yield.

Method Centrifugal method was adopted to collect single flower nectar from different rapeseed cultivars; the area of nectary was measured by microscope and related software; the total sugar content was determined by anthrone colorimetry; the contents of glucose, fructose, sucrose and trehalose were determined by high performance liquid chromatography; the content of flavonoids was determined by spectrophotometer; the protein content was determined by BCA method.

Result The amount of honey per flower and the nectary area of DY1 were significantly higher than other cultivars. Meanwhile, there was a significant positive correlation between nectar secretion per flower and nectary area per flower in different rapeseed cultivars (P<0.01), and the correlation coefficient was 0.956. The contents of total sugar, sucrose, glucose, fructose, trehalose and maltose in nectar of DY1 and DZY16 were significantly higher than those of other cultivars, and the flavonoids contents of DZY16 and the protein contents of DY1 were significantly higher than those of other cultivars.

Conclusion Through the study on nectar secretion per flower, nectary gland area per flower and nectar chemical component of rapeseed, we can consider breeding cultivars that attract insect pollination to improve seed yield in rapeseed breeding, which provided a new evaluation index for breeding new cultivars and yield increase of rapeseed.