Ambika Sharma
In a significant achievement, the apiculture research centre of the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni, has been adjudged the ‘Best Research Centre’ (2016-18 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in the country.
The department of entomology runs this centre, which is part of the All-India Coordinated Research Project on Honeybees and Pollinators AICRP (HB&P). They have bagged this title for the second year in a row.
The award was given at the biennial group meeting of AICRP (HB&P) organised by ICAR at the School of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development, Nagaland University, last week.
Principal investigator of the project Dr Harish Sharma, while elucidating about research work undertaken here, said: “The centre is engaged in research in diversified aspects of apiculture, including managed honeybee pollination, bee botany, bee breeding, honeybee disease identification and their management, and standardisation of technology for hive products. This is the only centre in the country where bumblebee rearing and its utilisation in protected cultivation has been standardised.”
Elaborating on the work done by the entomology department, head of the department Dr Divender Gupta said the centre has been working for the overall uplift of apiculture in the state with special emphasis on pollination management. To establish bee breeders, scientists have been providing technical backup for the production of quality queens for increasing honey production and pollination efficiency. Specialised training is also being provided on queen breeding and bee breeding to beekeepers from across the country, including the north-east.
UHF VC Dr HC Sharma and Dean College of Horticulture Dr Rakesh Gupta congratulated the whole team for bringing laurels to the university. With farming practices undergoing a drastic change, apiculture has been encountering several challenges in the recent years. Elaborating about these challenges, Dr Harish Sharma said many typical temperate species, which were common earlier are not traceable now in their origin locality. The increase in the temperature has transformed the flowering pattern and the time of flowering of many plants. Erratic and decreased rainfall also has a direct impact on flowering and on nectar secretion in flowers.
Another main constrain in the development of beekeeping industry in the mountainous regions is the long winter months when the honeybees require special care and management. This renders beekeeping on a commercial scale unprofitable and bees migrate to the lower hills if not well-managed.
Dr Sharma also dwells on the indiscriminate use of pesticides, which he says was seriously affecting the natural pollination, which is ultimately affecting their breeding. This has necessitated the need to promote safe and judicious use of pesticides in agriculture to protect bees.
The decline in the number of bees and other pollinators has become a cause for serious concern. The rising temperature leads to less precipitation in the form of snow, which in turn influences the discharge of water in the pre-monsoon period. The increase in the temperature directly impacts the nectar and pollen from the available bloom, which affects the sustainability of apiculture in an area.
Despite these handicaps, the university’s centre has been training farmers to adopt apiculture, which promises a good avenue to the unemployed youth.
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