We compared the fruit set and the quality of the Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai cv. Niitaka) among flowers pollinated by insect pollinators such as the honeybee(Apis mellifera) and bumblebee(Bombus terrestris) and pollinated artificial. The hand pollination rate was 1.3 times higher than bumblebee and 1.9 times higher than the honeybee pollination rate. Moreover, the artificially pollinated flowers produced fruit that was 5 to 10% higher in weight, 2 to 3% larger in size, and had a higher fruit shape index(L/D) than pollinated by the insect pollinators. On economic analysis, net profit from insect pollinator was 93.5 to 97.1% of net profit from hand pollination. Therefore, artificial pollination is more efficient than insect pollination in 'Niitaka' pear. However, regarding fruit quality and net profit, these results suggest that bee pollinator can be an good alternative to hand pollination in pear cv. Niitaka.

• Kyeong Yong Lee(Department of Agricultural Biology, The National Institute of Agricultural Science)
• Hyeonjin Ko(Department of Agricultural Biology, The National Institute of Agricultural Science)
• Hyung Joo Yoon(Department of Agricultural Biology, The National Institute of Agricultural Science)