NES AROUN ETHIOPIA
GHANA
SWITZERLAND
Participants from all over
The Director of Friends of Bee Enterprise, Mr T A Quaye, sent in this picture taken during their one-week Seminar, showing participants busy at work in the apiary. The Seminar was sponsored by Tepa District Council to help local farmers who cultivate cocoa and maize learn how to augment their income through beekeeping.
Mr Pittier-Raid sent this photograph of a colony of his bees living inside a transparent acrylic hive.
the country met when
The Ethiopian Beekeepers’ Association held its Annual Conference in August 2000.
Researchers from Holetta
i
et
.
.
8
Beekeeping Research Centre and the Ministry of Agriculture presented information on floral calendars, seasonal
management of bee colonies in
top-bar hives and frame
hives, and the development of beekeeping in Ethiopia. |
found the Conference very
interesting and encouraging.
Abrham Tesfaye
INDIA The killing of the Indian honeybee Apis cerana by Thai sacbrood disease and the failure of the Indian scientific community to control it or to produce disease resistant varieties, resulted in the introduction of the European bee
Apis mellifera into various parts of India. Several government and non-government agencies encouraged the action without realising the far-reaching consequences.
Eventually Apis mellifera may out-compete Apis cerana resulting in the disappearance of this indigenous bee. This conclusion can
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is one of the important cereal crops belonging to the
Family Polygonaceae and is indigenous to Asia. It is grown in many States of India, especially in drought areas. The crop is grown in Assam and iS gaining momentum in production. Grain from this crop is an important source of high quality protein and carbohydrates. It is mixed with
wheat flour, and is also used for gluten-free diets. Flowers attract bees to their nectar and this enhances pollination. An attempt has been made to evaluate the effect of Apis cerana in
be reached from the experiences in Korea and Thailand, where the native species were marginalised after the introduction of
the pollination, seed set and yield of buckwheat. In Russia buckwheat has long been considered
Apis mellifera. The decline of Apis cerana harmfully affects the agricultural sector that is
An experiment was conducted in India to
the backbone of the Indian economy because of Apis cerana’s vital role in the pollination of plants.
As Apis mellifera adapts to the Indian climate there will be a fundamental change, and already changes have been observed in its behaviour.
as a major source of honey.
investigate the effect of Apis cerana on seed set and yield of buckwheat. Buckwheat spikes per plant, seeds per spike, percentage of filled seed,
and weight of grain were found to be higher in bee pollinated trials than in open and
and it has become increasingly aggressive.
self-pollinated experiments. There was significant difference in yield in bee pollinated treatment
The worst and far reaching consequence of the introduction of Apis mellifera is the method
over “open” and “without bees” pollination control treatments. The foraging activity of
adopted by the beekeepers to control the birds that feed on honeybees - indiscriminately
Apis cerana showed the maximum number
shooting them down. This will destroy the
A Rahman & S Rahman
fragile ecosystem.
Source: indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2000
Apis mellifera’s non-aggressive character disappeared
V J Sebastian Beekeeping & Development 58
of foragers recorded from
1500-1600 hours.
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