Beekeeping Research Paper

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BEEKEEPING & AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIV

ROLE OF BEEKEEPING WITHINDIGENOUS BEE-APIS CERANAIN CROP PRODUCTION


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This study has been supported by EdelGive Foundation. Started formally in 2008, EdelGive Foundation provides strategic direction to the philanthropic activities of Edelweiss and its employees.

EdelGive's mission is to leverage the resources and skills of the for-profit world to empower social entrepreneurs and organizations focusing on the areas of education, livelihoods and women

empowerment. Read more at www.edelgive.org

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ContentsPrefaceForeword

Acknowledgment

Chapter 1

Title and AbstractThe Apis groupBackground of the project Needfor the current studyBackground of the study areaAim and ObjectivesMaterials and MethodsTime line of the study

Chapter 2

Observations: Activity of bees in Bee Boxes1. Bee Activity in Bee boxes2. Pollen load and nectar load collection3. Out-going trips of Apis cerana during various months4. Arrival of bees with Pollen load during the months studied 5.Arrival of bees with Nectar load during the months studied6. Foraging behavior at various study locations

Chapter 3

Observations: Insect visits and composition on floral Quadrats1. Pollinator Activity and Foraging2. Composition of insects on floral Quadrat3. Number of Apis cerana visits on floral quadrats4. Favorable plants for Apis cerana

Chapter 4

Observations: Crop productivity1. Productivity increase in areas with bee box2. Number of bee visits and Productivity:

Chapter 5

Key findings and discussionImportant outcomes of the studyLimitations of the studyFuture prospectsBibliography

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PrefaceUnder The Mango Tree works with small and marginal farmers in Gujarat, Maharashtra and MadhyaPradesh through its Bees for Poverty Reduction (BPR) programme to increase incomes and agricultural productivitythrough beekeeping with the indigenous bee Apis cerana indica.

The genesis of this strategy was the need to diversify livelihoods, create much needed income among tribals andmarginalized sections of society.

What makes the model different is the key focus areas:

Training at village level over a 12 month period of hand holding and support to incorporate

local flora, seasonal management crucial for successful beekeeping Creating local cadre of Master Trainers to facilitate scaling up Creating long term, sustainable market linkages for the honey and beeswax produced by the

farmer

The Bees for Poverty Reduction strategy began as a pilot in partnership with BAIF DHRUVA and BAIF MITTRA in SouthGujarat and Maharashtra in 2009. Bees were not new to tribals in these areas who were familiar with honey hunting.What was new was that bees could be domesticated: live in a box, yield honey and more importantly, contributeto agricultural yields of wadis and local crops.

In the course of our trainings, we learnt that many farmers were seeing a bee box for the first time; many refused tobelieve that bees would actually live in the boxes. As farmers began keeping bee boxes, they slowly but surely beganmaking the leap of faith. Today there is the firm belief that beekeeping will flourish in these areas.

Anecdotal evidence about the impact of beekeeping on cucumbers, other locally grown vegetables and fruits beganto be reported in 2010. In order to quantify this impact, a rapid impact assessment survey was undertaken inDharampur taluk of Dist Valsad (Gujarat) between September 2010 and April 2011 with the support of EdelGiveFoundation, Mumbai.

Some other reasons that pointed to the need for the study were:

Existing research in India on agricultural productivity and beekeeping was concentrated innorthern India (Bihar, Western UP) and largely related to the hybrid bee used by commercialbeekeepers ( Apis mellifera )

Focus on small/margial farmers and crops important to them such as niger, pulses, oilseeds,other fruits and vegetables was a key missing factor.

This study was the first step towards exploring answers to the following questions:

Does beekeeping using the indigenous A.cerana play any role in cropproduction of crops in the study area?

What is the impact of beekeeping with A.cerana on seed/fruit production?

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The study incorporated common crops that were cultivated and harvested during the study phase andwas carried out with the help of local field officers between September 2010 to April 2011 at 7 locations in 3villages of Valsad (4 localities with beeboxes and 3 without bee boxes). 14 local field investigators were trained tocollect data on various parameters like pollinator visits in flowering quadrates, activity of bees in bee boxes andweekly harvest / productivity of the quadrates.

This study has thrown up extremely interesting results. As Prof M.C.Suryanarayana (the well known scientistand expert on pollination) points out in the Foreword, the study is perhaps the first in the country to assess, in

field conditions, the value of pollination in crop production .

The findings show that 15 plants showed a considerable increase in productivity as compared to farms with no beeboxes. The productivity of Niger, an essential crop for farmers' incomes, increased by 60%. Important cash crops inthe region such as cashew and mango also showed productivity increases of upto 157% and 68% due tobeekeeping. Other crops that showed significant productivity increases were pigeon pea, flat beans, chick pea,tomato, banana and papaya. This indicates the potential for small farmers to increase their incomes throughbeekeeping.

More importantly, this study points to the need to undertake a larger study which will yield findings that can bepublished in academic and other fora.

EdelGive Foundation has been a very farsighted donor in recognizing the need for a study of this kind. We would like tothank Vidya Shah, Aditi Thorat, Ekta Chheda, Tessy Mathew for their unstinted support and encouragement.

Prof.M.C.Suryanarayana (former Director, CBRTI, Pune) has written the Foreword and been a mentor to us, ever sincewe started our work with Apis cerana in the BPR programme. He has freely given us the benefit of his vastexperience and immense scholarship in the area. We have made frequent demands on his time and in spite of all hisother commitments, he has always been there for us, answering our numerous queries with patience. We owea debt of gratitude to him.

Dr.R.C.Mishra (former Executive Director, National Bee Board and former Project Coordinator, National Project onBees and Pollination, ICAR) has also given us the benefit of his vast library, taking the trouble to photocopy and send usrelevant articles on the subject. He also spent a great of his time and energy in going through the study and giving hiscomments. Our sincere thanks to him.

Hemant Tripathi, the researcher of the study, took up the study and completed it with zeal andcommitment. He has always put in extra efforts beyond the call of duty, be it in training local researchers ordocumenting various aspects of the study. This study would not have seen the light of day if not for his efforts.

Colleagues at DHRUVA, especially Shri.J.H.Mori, Chief Programme Coordinator, Shri Babubhai Patel. BeekeepingAnchor and Shri Manilal Vaghera, Field Staff, Pindwal cluster have worked shoulder to shoulder with us inestablishing beekeeping in the area. They have given their unstinted support in this study also and taken a personalinterest in its completion.

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Sujana Krishnamoorthy, Programme Leader, UTMT Society lead this study. The team: Bhumika Tulalwar,

Programme Officer and Sachin Dhavle, Programme Associate fine tuned various aspects of the study and brought a lotof their passion and commitment for the programme into ensuring that this study was completed on time andefficiently.

Kejal Doshi has designed the cover and the pages of the study. Thank you Kejal for your patience and effort.

The findings of this study point to the need for a larger study across various geographies to conclusively prove thebenefits that low cost beekeeping can have for the small/marginal farmer. Such a study would be a very useful toolin policy formulation and give beekeeping with Apis cerana the importance it deserves in India.

Vijaya Pastala

President

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ForewordThe honey bee species Apis cerana is a source of honey and other bee products that add to the income,nutrition and medicine of the tribal, poor and marginalized farmers and their families in Asia. In addition toproviding honey, beeswax, etc., the bees play an important role in pollination of crops and like wild bees, theypollinate native plant species and thus help in maintaining local biodiversity.

In its efforts to create sustainable livelihoods through management of available resources, Under The MangoTree (UTMT) added beekeeping to the basket of activities in a few villages of southwest Gujarat with predominantlytribal population. The organization took a wise decision to utilize the indigenous honey bee for this enterprise. Inorder to educate and create awareness of the importance of beekeeping among the farmers, it was necessary to

understand and create the necessary knowledge base on the impact of keeping bees on the production of localcrops.

A range of studies in different parts of the world have shown that pollination makes a very significantcontribution to the agricultural production of a broad range of crops, in particular fruits, vegetables, fibre cropsand nuts. However, in India with its vast variety of climates and flora and fauna, our understanding of the role ofinsect pollinators in crop production is negligible. In several cultivated regions of India decreasing pollinatorpopulations is a cause for concern and measures to offset this trend include keeping honey bees.

UTMT took up a pioneering study to assess the benefit of keeping bees on pollination and fruit / seed set in the field.Though quite preliminary in nature the study did show increase in production of several crops ranging from about25 per cent to above 225 per cent. If the farmers are convinced of this benefit, they would not hesitate in taking upbeekeeping.

There are no standardized methods for assessing pollinator diversity and role of pollination in crop production.The UTMT study is perhaps the first in the country to assess, in the field conditions, the value of pollination in cropproduction. The procedure followed and the results obtained in the study provide valuable guidelines for furtherstudies in different agricultural regions of the country.

In any field of enterprise, particularly in exploring the unknown, the first step taken is always the best andconstitutes the foundation for progress. UTMT deserves praise in initiating exploratory work in both apiculturedevelopment and crop production in non-traditional areas of the country.

October 6, 2011Chennai 600023 M.C. Suryanarayana

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AcknowledgementThe present report is the outcome of work spanning 8 months which included 4 months of intense field work. Thereport highlights the findings of a short term assessment of role of bee keeping with Apis cerana indica in thefarm systems of marginal farmers in Dharampur taluka of Valsad district in the state of Gujarat. The work may seemto be a small term study but in reality it could be a stepping stone for larger benefits in terms of awareness,knowledge, documentation, orientation and implications as far as pollination and crop productivity are concerned.I first would like to thank the field investigators of the region who showed not only interest and inclination forsuch a study but also immense patience in collection of primary data. Had this not been done the project wouldhave been an exercise in futility. I would like to mention here that such a study can only be done if there is animmense conviction and sensitivity. I hereby acknowledge and sincerely express gratitude to the funding

agency EdelGive Foundation for being convinced and sensitive towards the need for research and documentationin the area of pollination. Had it not been for their trust in the idea, this study would not have been possible. I amalso thankful to Under The Mango Tree (UTMT) for facilitating the whole project. I personally would like to thankMs.Vijaya Pastala, Ms.Sujana Krishnamoorthy and Ms.Bhumika Tulalwar for their immense backing and guidancethroughout the project. I am also thankful to Sachin Dhavle and Sujata Pawar of UTMT for regular assistance andsupport.

Dr. M.C. Suryanarayana, well known expert in this field, has generously given his time and inputs to this study rightfrom the formulation stage. He has been extremely patient as well as prompt with our queries. We have beenbenefited immensely from his knowledge and vast experience and are deeply indebted to him for the same.Dr.R.C.Mishra also took the time to review the study and gave us several useful inputs including relevant articles

from his extensive library on this subject. I am also thankful to Mr. Atar S. Kaintura, UTMT's Technical Expert forhis guidance towards methodology selection and overall inputs. The usual disclaimers of course apply.

Last but surely, not the least; I would like to thank my friends and family who helped me work towards my interest andpassion.

Hemant Tripathi

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1Chapter 1 : Title and Abstract

Role of indigenous beekeeping w ith Apis cerana indica F. in crop production in farm sys tems ofDharampur taluka

Crop pollination is an essential ecosystem service, which is efficiently provided by different pollinators. Amongstvarious pollinators available , Dyer and Seeley (1991b) reported that Apis cerana shows a disproportionatelyhigh mass-specific metabolic rate, their foragers make many more trips per day in the same habitat than do foragersof the other species. Apis cerana can therefore be considered as one of most efficient pollinators. In India, croppollination has been negatively affected due to reduction in density and population of efficient pollinators.With the help of beekeeping with indigenous honey bee, Apis cerana , its density and availability as a pollinator

have increased in some areas. The current study investigated correlations between practice of beekeeping withthe indigenous bee, its influence on pollinator composition and role in crop production increment. Severalplants which are commonly cultivated or used by marginal farmers in the study locality were examined.Important crops like Niger, Chickpea, Pigeon pea, Mango and Cashew were studied. No bias between self-compatible and self- incompatible crop species was made and events of increase in production in such cropswere critically examined. As the study was being carried in open condition, the chances were kept open for crops toget pollinated by managed honey bees, other native honeybees, and wild non-honey bee insects. Stress was laid onthe amount of production differences in areas with bee boxes and areas without bee boxes. To determine theeffect of indigenous beekeeping at different localities, observations were made for flower-visiting insects,fruit set and also entry and exit rates with pollen and nectar loads of bees from bee boxes. Results from thesampled flower visitors indicated that the abundances of other native honey bees like A. florea and A. dorsata,

stingless bees like Trigona, and wild non-honey bee insects were significantly influenced by the density andvisitation rate of Apis cerana indica . It was noted that Apis cerana indica density and visits were significantly highin areas where bee boxes have been installed. Additionally, two influential factors i.e., high number of Apiscerana indica in bee box areas and its dominance in flower visitor composition on floral Quadrats showedsignificant positive correlations with the fruit set and crop production. There was noticeable increase inproduction obtained from crops observed in areas practicing beekeeping. This increment in crop productionmay not be attributed only to pollination service, but also to the ability of A. cerana indica to dominate the visitorcomposition and reduce the flower mortality which could have been caused in its absence. It was observed thatimpact of beekeeping with A. cerana indica is positive. The results suggest that increasing number of A. ceranaindica through beekeeping at different scales would help to ensure higher crop yields. Adequate numberof A. cerana indica is observed to be vital for significant crop production

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1The Apis groupHoney bees are a subdivision of bees which is mainly distinguished by the manufacture and storage ofhoney and the construction of persistent, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the members of the tribe Apini, inthe genus Apis. India is a tropical country bestowed with highly diversified ecosystems. Varied ecologicalconditions with diversified flora have provided favorable habitat for various honeybee species in India. The gianthoney bee (Apis dorsata F.), the oriental hive bee (A. cerana F.), dwarf bee ( A. florae F.), and several species of stinglessbees ( Trigona and Melipona ), are widely distributed in India. These species pollinate various plants (Bright et al.,1998), and produce hive products such as honey, wax, pollen, etc. which are useful to mankind (Shukla and Upadhyay,2007).

A. cerana is widespread in temperate and tropical Asia. There are many different subspecies and races of A. cerana , due

to wide range of habitats it occupies from temperate mountain regions to tropical islands. In his 1988 monograph,Ruttner summarized the data on morphometric variation in A. cerana. He recognized four subspecies of A.cerana as follows: A. c. cerana in northern Asia; A. c. indica in southern Asia, A. c. japonica in Japan; and A. c. Himalaya inthe Himalayan region. Other honey bee species in Asia showing behavior similar to A. cerana are A. koschevnikovi , A. nigrocincta and A. c. nuluensis . These gentle species of bees have long been managed as useful honey bees in manyparts of Asia and their honey and wax valued.

Background of the projectThe present study commissioned by UTMT is a short term assessment of the impact of indigenousbeekeeping on farms of marginal farmers in Dharampur taluka of Valsad district in Gujarat, India.

The project was a four month study which incorporated common crops that were cultivated and harvestedduring the study phase. Though, most of these crops are vegetables, the focus was maintained to bring an account ofrole of beekeeping with Apis cerana indica (a local subspecies, henceforth mentioned as A. cerana in thisreport) as an influencing and enhancing factor towards productivity of economic crops like Niger (Kharsani), Chickpea,Pigeon pea, Mango and Cashew.

The study was carried with the help of local field officers for primary data collection over the study period fromNovember 2010 to March 2011. The data collection was done in three villages viz., Dandwal, Tutarkhed andSishumal. From these 3 villages, 14 field investigators were selected to collect data on various parameters likepollinator visits in flowering quadrats, activity of bees in bee boxes and weekly harvest / productivity of the

quadrats.

This short term study can be used as a foundation for a long term exploration of parameters utilized. The study canfeed into a region specific model that may give information based on habitat, altitude, humidity, local floralset and plantation plan required for efficient beekeeping with focus towards increase in incomes from honeyand crop productivity. It would be useful if the present study could lead into a longer study that will enable criticaldocumentation of the positive role that indigenous honey bee A. cerana can play in agriculture , its distribution andpopulation status in the current region and need for conservation in order to enhance agriculture and ecology of thecorresponding region.

The outcomes of this project are expected to expand local understanding, capacity and awareness of the sustainable

use of pollinators for agriculture.

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Need for the current studyIt is commonly believed that nearly 70 percent of cultivated crops all over the world are cross-pollinated anddepend on insects like honey bees for pollination. Dwindling population of such useful pollinating insects hasnow become a global problem. The importance of bees is often underlined with their role in pollination servicesand income generation by production of honey and there has been a common concern that population ofindigenous bees are declining at an alarming rate. In the study site, beekeeping has just been initiated withindigenous honey bee A. cerana . Beekeeping in the current area was introduced in the year 2009 to create an extrasource of income for marginal farmers from honey and beeswax and to diversify their livelihoods. With population of

A. cerana, an indigenous bee in this region being restored near farms, it becomes critical to quantify roles that A. cerana colony would play in pollination, production or in the ecological balance.

Honey is the best known bee product from an economic point of view and is the most visible outcome from abeekeeping project. Honey bees enhance agricultural productivity and help maintain biodiversity by providingvaluable pollination services. The main significance of honeybees and beekeeping therefore, is pollination,whereas hive products carry a secondary value. Pollination is an ecological process based on the principal ofmutual interactions or interrelationships between the pollinated (plants) and the pollinator. The Convention onBiological Diversity (CBD) has recognized pollination as a key driver in the maintenance of ecosystem function.The benefit of honey bees as providers of pollination services for enhancing crop yields and maintainingbiodiversity is thought to be much higher than their role as producers of honey and beeswax. Therefore,

estimation of the economic value of honey bees in agriculture is a much needed study in order to understandthe importance of pollinator management through beekeeping and also to enhance managed pollination.Utilization of pollinators especially honey bees is considered as one of the cheapest ecofriendly approaches availableto maximize the yield of cross pollinated crops (Free, 1970). Many investigations have consistently confirmed thatyield levels can be increased to an extent of 50 to 60 per cent in fruits and plantation crops, 45 to 50 per cent insunflower, Sesame and Niger and 100 to 150 per cent in cucurbit crops through good management ofpollinators (Melnichenko and Khalifman, 1960).

Pollination by honey bees depends on wide variety of factors such as, altitude, temperature, regional floraldiversity, and other geographical and climatic features and therefore, yield levels vary according to places andregions. Effort is being made with this study to quantify the role of A. cerana beekeeping in crop productivity and

their impact in the yield level. Such a study can help in regulating planned and efficient use of indigenous beeslike A. cerana to improve qualitative and quantitative parameters of crop yields.


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1Background of the study areaDharampur and Kaprada are talukas in the district of Valsad. The current study was carried out in villagesof Dandwal, Tutarkhed and Sishumal of Dharampur taluka. Dharampur is an erstwhile princely state in the Valsaddistrict of Gujarat. The region has a semi-arid type of climate. It records a maximum temperature of 42 0Cwith a mean annual temperature of 27 0 C. April and May are the hottest months. In winter the temperature dropsto 7 0C. About 95% of the rainfall comes from the South-West monsoon. Annual rainfall occurs between June andSeptember. May is the hottest month when the mean daily maximum temperature soars up to 40 degreeswhile, December is the coldest month in the district (Patel, 1971). The average annual rainfall is 2465 mm,concentrated in a few months and the remainder of the year is dry.

As observed during the preliminary survey, Dharampur is a predominantly tribal area with rich forest cover andconsists of small village clusters spread widely across the region. There are village clusters in the interiors of thelandscape dominated by vast hills, valleys, zigzagging rivers and often dense forest areas. The farmers here aremarginal and practice subsistence farming due to lack of resources, options and traditional lifestyle. The tribes heredepend upon forest resources for various important and day to day needs like shelter, housing material, food,fuel, fiber, etc. Majority of the cultivators in this region barely manage to survive for a few months of the year onthe crops harvested. The livelihood of the villagers depends mainly upon agriculture and animal husbandry.


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Thus introduction of beekeeping by A. cerana as an additional source of income in this tribal area is a remarkableand promising step.

Other than being a tribal belt, the region also is a unique ecosystem dominated by forests and is part of one of theimportant eco-regions of the Western Ghats. The forests in this region are rich in biodiversity although largepatches of forest areas are also seen to be degrading due to monoculture, tree felling and other human induceddisturbances. Most of the area in this region is made up of a series of flat-topped low hills.

The vegetation of the study area can be categorized into North Western Ghats Moist Deciduous Forests.The Natural vegetation in Dharampur is influenced by the southwestern monsoon and consists of;

Moist teak-bearing forests,

Moist mixed deciduous forest without teak, and

Secondary moist mixed deciduous forests

According to the classification by Puri et. al., (1983) these forests can also be classified as deciduous teak forest typeswhich are intermediate between dry and moist categories. They are named as the Tectona- Terminalia-Adina-Anogeissus categories. Teak ( Tectona grandis ) is the most dominant species in this region and occurs throughoutthe area.

Representative forest species include Tectona grandis, Grewia tiliaefolia, Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Dillenia pentagyna, Kydia calycina, Bambusa arundinacea, Dalbergia latifolia, Adina cordifolia, Pterocarpusmarsupium, Xylia xylocara, Wrighia tinctoria, and Schleichera oleosa (Champion and Seth 1968). The teak forestson lateritic soils have typical understory species represented by Cleistanthus collinus, Holarrhernaantidysenterica, Bauhinia racemosa, and Kydia calycina. Important climbers and bushes include Woodfordia

fruticosa,Calycopteris floribunda, Dioscorea spp., Butea superba, Bauhinia vahlii, and Smilax macrophylla (Puri et al.1989). Such wide variety of plants would present number of options for A. cerana to survive in wild. But, it has alsobeen observed that many areas in this region have been left with only few numbers of species of plants; mostlyteak and Terminalia elliptica . Due to such intense disturbance of forest areas and monoculturing trend, thebees in this region may be on a declining side.

Crops cultivated in the study area: Farming practiced in the study region is rain fed and although it rains in plenty, thewater runoff is in huge proportion due to the rocky and hard base of the land. The major crops cultivated duringKharif by the farmers are Nagli, Varai and paddy. Local farmers are seen to practice land conservation measuressuch gully plugs, stone bunds and nala bunds in this area to ensure cropping and increase in yield. Nagli (fingermillet) is a major crop as it can grow on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils. Varai (small millet) isanother major crop which is cultivated, followed by paddy, black gram and niger. Due to the absence of irrigationfacility, the total cultivated area is extremely dependent on the uncertain monsoons.


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1ims and Objectives

The current study is the first step towards exploring answers for the following questions: Does beek eeping by using the indigenous A. cerana play any role in production of crops in the

study area?

What is the impact of beekeeping with A. cerana on seed/ fruit production?

Does it ha ve any influence on pollinator composition of the area?

The objectives of the current study are as follows:

Evaluation of pollination and foraging behavior under OPEN CONDTIONS

Monitoring activity of pollinators on selected crop species

Monitoring foraging

patterns

Bee activity pattern; Daily and Seasonal

Pollen and nectar load collection in various study localities

Bee activity patterns in the Bee boxes

Materials and MethodsA preliminary survey was undertaken to devise a methodology for the short term impact assessment.During the preliminary survey, notes were made on local floral diversity, composition of plants in wadis , familiarityof local stakeholders with bee diversity and availability of human resources. Observations during the preliminarysurvey were critical in selecting a methodology. The method selected was further designed and redesigned afterconsidering availability as well as limitations of resources.

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1The short length of the project as it was an "impact assessment study" and utilization of local tribal youth as

investigators were key considerations that shaped the methodology of the study.

Data collection was done under open condition method. Open condition methodology was consideredappropriate for the short term impact assessment as such a method will consider existence ofcomposition and population of other pollinators in the region. The data collection was done at 7 locationsin 3 villages of Dharampur taluka in Valsad district. Out of these 7 locations, 4 had bee boxes, and the remaining 3did not have bee-boxes in them. Areas with bee boxes and areas without boxes were selected so that conclusionscould be made based on comparative analysis of observations between areas with and without bee boxes. 14field investigators were appointed from the three villages participating in the study. The selection of thesefield investigators was based on their familiarity with the region, landscape, vegetation and their curiosity,knowledge, aptitude and grasp in beekeeping and bee diversity.

In the above said 7 locations, 2 investigators were placed at each location to make observations pertainingto the objectives of the short term study.

Field Investigators of the Study


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1The primary field investigation was done on three parameters given below:

1. Pollinator visits on floral Quadrats

2. Crop productivity assessment by number of fruit set and harvest

3. Exit and entry of A. cerana in bee boxes

Prior training to field investigators was given and further objectives of the study were explained on regularbasis. After 2 weeks of initial training and some practice of field data collection and observation, one more trainingsession was arranged before initiating the regular data collection for the study.

Quadrats were made of size 1mX1m and were placed randomly over flowering area of crops selected for the study.Arial quadrats were made on trees like mango and cashew while in crops like papaya one whole plant in itself wasconsidered as a quadrat representative. Quadrat locations were often selectedrandomly but some considerations were made like;

1. Quadrat should cover maximum amount of mature flowers,

2. The amount of over mature or dehisced flowers should be minimum

3. The Quadrat should be at least 10 m away from the bee box


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1Each Quadrat placed over flowering area of crops was considered to be floral Quadrat and

observations on number of visits from following visitors were noted:

1. Apis cerana

2. Apis florea

3. Apis dorsata

4. Trigona species

5. Butterflies

6. Other flying insects

7. Non flying insects

The floral Quadrat made was maintained for at least 4 weeks so that, the number of fruits formed in the studiedQuadrat can be observed every week. Crop productivity was assessed on the basis of weekly harvest from thevegetable crops and fruits present in the floral Quadrat. The harvest from every floral Quadrat was kept separateand noted. In plants where fruits are not harvested every week, the number of fruits set in the crop was observed.The total number of fruits formed every week was counted in the case of mango, cashew, papaya and banana; thiswould give an idea of fruit set in these crops.

The crops for the study were selected on the basis of their availability and significance in local farming andbeekeeping.

While selecting crops for the study, the crops were intentionally and cautiously not distinguished on the perspectivesgiven below.

1. Cross pollinated and self-pollinated species

2. Apis cerana pollinated species and those pollinated by other means

3. Forest and non-forest species

Crops to be studied were thus exclusively selected on the following parameters -

1. Significance of crops in farming practices, medicine or other local uses

2. Importance of crops for foraging of Apis cerana

3. Accessibility and availability in the study location, and

4. Familiarity of local field investigators to the crops

The observations were made from 8 am to 5pm during winter and in the morning between 8am to 6pmduring summer. Data collected for whole day was categorized into

1. Morning (8am to 11am),

2. Afternoon (11/12pm to 2/3pm) and

3. Evening (2/3pm to 5/6 pm)


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1The overall study was a comparative account between areas with bee boxes and areas without bee boxes.

Activity of A. cerana bees in bee boxes of each study location was studied. Foraging activity in bee boxes was noted bycounting number of bees departing and arriving in bee boxes for the whole day from 8hrs to 18hrs. Number of beesdeparting from the bee box and number of bees arriving in the bee box were noted on hourly basis. Bees withpollen load were categorically noted.The numbers of bees seen with pollen load were considered as ones coming in after pollen foraging and the numberof bees bringing nectar was interpreted from bees arriving in the bee box without pollen load. In other words,assumption was made that the bees with pollen load have collected pollen and bees without pollen load havecollected nectar. This data would give an idea on foraging pattern of A. cerana .To summarize, the whole study was based on random sampling under open conditions . Data was observed onpollinator visits, productivity and behavior of bees in bee boxes. Pollinator visits and productivity wasobserved by constructing 1mX1m Quadrats at various locations for various crops. The 1mX1m sampling Quadrat wasconsidered as a floral Quadrat and was the observation area for pollinator visits and productivity assessment. Eachcrop was studied several times for pollinator visits and productivity. Every week 3 days were spent onpollinator visit study, 1 day on bee boxes and 1 day on productivity survey. The data collection started in the monthof October and concluded in the 1 st week of March. In total, data observations were made for 19 weeks.

Time line of the study

Over 19 weeks of data collection, 590 observations were made. These constituted 394 observations of pollinatorvisits on floral Quadrats, 122 observations of crop productivity and 75 observations of A. cerana activity in beeboxes.


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2Chapter : ObservationsActivity of bees in Bee Boxes

1. Bee Activity in Bee boxes The foraging of bees ( A. cerana in the current case) was seen to be regulated by various factors like floralcomposition, season, temperature and humidity.The average foraging pattern (exit from the bee box and entry with and without pollen load) was observedin detail. Bees marking exit from the bee box were considered as bees going out for foraging and bees making anentry into the bee box with the pollen load were considered to be bees returning after pollen foraging. Thecolony in bee boxes in the study localities were young and newly formed, and good indicators of foraging dynamicsin the colony.

Figure 1 : Chart showing foraging activity bees (WPL: Without pollen load; PL: With pollen load)

The sporadic exit and entry of bees were observed as early as 0500h. The regular exit and entry was studiedfrom 0700h to 1800h. The peak activity was seen at 0900h to 1200h and 1600h to 1800h. Comparatively, the

1600h to 1800h slot was seen to be more intense in activity (fig 1).

2. Pollen load and nectar load collection

The number of bees entering the box with the pollen load was observed from 0700h to 1800h and peak was seenat two slots, i.e., 0900h to 1200h and 1600h to 1800h. Numbers of bees entering with the pollen load in the boxwas seen to be gradually increasing from 0700h to 0900h before steadying during first peak between time slot0900h to 1200h, after which the pollen foraging activity decreased and then increased again at the second time slotbetween 1600h to 1800h.


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2Figure 2 :

As far as overall activity is concerned, the second peak time slot 1600h to 1800h was more intense and exclusively forpollen foraging.

In fact, during time slot between 1500h to 1800h, the number of bees seen entering into the box without pollen load(WPL) was more than the number of bees entering with pollen load (PL) (Fig 2). It may be assumed that during thetime slot between 1500h to 1800h, the focus shifted to nectar foraging.

Bees carrying pollen into the box


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2To be precise, the number of bees collecting pollen was more during the first half of the day, i.e., till 1200h,

while during the second half of the day the number of bees collecting nectar was more. Thefollowing interesting observation in this regard is as follows:

1 . Number of bees entering with pollen load and with nectar was seen to be ascending from 0700hto 1200h.

2 . Number of bees with pollen load and with nectar load then descended during 1200h to 1400h.

3. Ascending of bees with pollen load and with nectar load again started from 1400h to 1800h.

4. The number of bees with pollen load was more than the number of bees with nectar from 0700hto 1200h, i.e., during the first half of the day

5. The number of bees with nectar load was more than that of the bees with the pollen load during1200h to 1800h, i.e., during the second half of the day

3. Out-going trips of Apis cerana during various months

Temperature was seen to be the determining factor as far as the foraging activity of the honey bees was concerned.Over the period of 5 months during which observations were made, the pattern of out-going (exit) of bees frombee boxes showed some interesting features. During Monsoon, the activity of bees was seen to be limited andthis resulted in increased amount of work post Monsoon. The observations made during the month of Novembershowed that bees would start making their exit quite early in the morning and number of bees making exitfrom box between the time slot 0700h to 0800h was comparatively high (Fig. 3). The number of beesdeparting from the bee box in this month is considerably high at three time slots, viz., 0700h to 0800h, 0900h to 1200hand 1600h to 1700h.

November: During this month the bees had 3 peak activity phases or in other perspective 5 hours of intenseactivity.

To summarize, the exit of bees from boxes in November was high at 0700h and then reduced before rising upagain maintaining a steady rate between 0900h to 1200h, then dropping down again before peaking up at1600h to 1700h.

Figure 3 : Exit of bees from bee boxes during the study


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2December: In December the number of bees departing from the bee box at 0700h to 0800h was seen to be highly

reduced. The bees during this month started late in the morning and the foraging activity was seen to be very low at0700h-0800h, gradually increased and picked up at 0900h - 1000h. The rate of exit was steady during the time slot0900h to 1200h, after which the number of bees making exit from the box fell, during the time slot 1200h to1500h. Between 1500h to 1800h the exit activity was intense with a peak at the 1600h to 1700h time slot. The activityafter 1700h was seen to reduce.

January: In the month of January 2011, the temperature further dropped down and the number of bees departingfrom the box was observed to be lowest of all months. The rate of exit gradually picked up reaching a steady ratebetween 0900h to 1200h. The rate of exit from boxes dropped after 1200h and then again started rising reachingthe intense activity phase between 1600h to 1800h.

February: As the temperature increased in February, the bees started their foraging trips quite early. The number ofbees seen to exit the bee box at 0700h was observed to be more than what was seen in the month of December andJanuary. The rate of exit from bee boxes was observed to be very gradual, steady and kept low. Between time slots0900h to 1200h and 1600h to 1800h the exit activity was seen to be high.

March: In the month of March the departing rate from bee box was seen to be scaling high. At 0700h the number ofbees marking exit from the box was seen to be higher than in the months of December, January and February.As the pollen and nectar resources built up and the temperature increased, the bees tend to exit the boxes early forforaging. The gradual increase in exit activity was observed from 0700h to 1200h. The peak in exit activity wasobserved between 0800h to 1300h and 1600h to 1800h. This underlines the intense activity of bees during thismonth.

4. Arrival of bees with Pollen load during the months studied

The number of bees arriving in the box with the pollen load (PL) was observed over five months of the studyperiod. It was observed that the month of March was comparatively a better phase for pollen collection.Majority of the pollen collection was done between 0800h to 1200h. There were two slots, viz., 0900h to 1200hand 1600h to 1800h that showed intense pollen foraging as the number of bees arriving in the box with the pollenload was seen to be high during these slots (Fig 4).

Figure 4 : Entry of bees with Pollen Load


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Figure 5 : Entry of bees without pollen load

6. Foraging behavior at various study locations

The foraging behavior of bees is regulated by temperature, topography and availability of floral resources.The floral resources available at the three sites determine the rate of activity, pollen and nectar foraging by beespresent in the bee boxes. The age of bee hive and the growth rate of the colony also play a critical role in determiningthe foraging dynamics of a bee colony.

Of all the bee boxes studied for activity of bees, Dandwal village had the oldest of all bee boxes. The colony in thisbox was much stabilized and foraging behavior was regulated accordingly.

The bee box at Tutarkhed village was older than the box at Sishumal, but younger than the one in Dandwal.

It was observed in all bee boxes that the number of bees departing approximately peaked during the time slots0900h to 1100h and 1500h to 1800h (Fig 6).

The bees in Tutarkhed seem to have collected more pollen with peak hours during 0900h to 1100h. Overall, thenumber of bees entering the box with the pollen load was visibly higher than the number of bees entering withoutpollen load. This means that the number of bees collecting pollen was more than the number of bees collectingnectar. In the chart given below, it can be observed that between time slots 0700h to 1200h the number of bees withpollen is more than number of bees with nectar. The bees with nectar load are more in number only at the time slot1500h to 1700h. Thus bees are collecting pollen more than nectar in the Tutarkhed region.


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2

Figure 6 : Bee activity: Tutarkhed

In Sishumal, the rate of exit from the bee box and the rate of entry in to the bee box with pollen load were goingalmost parallel. Also, the number of bees entering without pollen load was not very low. This suggests that thecolony present in the bee box had high requirement of pollen and nectar which kept the bees very busy throughout

the day in this location. The number of bees arriving with pollen load on them was seen to be very high during 1000hto 1100h and 1600h to 1800h (Fig 7).

Bee Activity in Bee Box : Shishumal

Figure 7 : Bee activity: Sishumal


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2

In Dandwal, the bee box had one of the oldest and stable bee colonies of all the study localities. The number ofbees exiting was seen to be high during 1600h to 1800h. The number of bees coming back with the pollen load waslow, compared to that in other locations. The number of bees arriving at the box with nectar load was seen to behigher than the ones arriving with the pollen load (Figure 8). In Dandwal region nectar foraging was intense.

Figure 8 : Bee Activity Dandwal


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3Chapter 3 : ObservationsInsect visits and Composition on Floral QuadratsVarious crops selected in floral Quadrats in three different study localities were observed for thecomposition and number of pollinator visits. Observation was made to investigate if there weredifferences in frequency and availability of A. cerana between areas with and without bee boxes.Composition of other visitors on floral Quadrats was also critically observed.

Common Gujarati name

1. Rai

2. Keli

3. Rehana

4. Valpapadi

5. Karela

6. Gliricidea

7. Chana

8. Tindola

9. Tuar

10. Kaju

11. Ringana

12. Niger (Khursani)

13. Jowar

14. Papadi

15. Amba

16. Papaya

17. Marcha

18. Dodka

19. Tamatar

20. Nirgudi

21. Sargapo

22. Eranda


Scientific name

Brassica juncea

Musa paradisiaca

Sesbania grandiflora

Dolichos lablab

Momordica charantia

Gliricidia maculata

Cicer arietinum

Coccinia grandis

Cajanus cajan

Anacardium occidentale

Solanum melongena

Guizotia abyssinica

Sorghum bicolour

Phaseolus vulgare

Mangifera indica

Carica papaya

Capsicum annuum

Luffa acutangula

Lycopersicon esculentum

Vitex negundo

Moringa oleifera

Ricinus communis

19

English common name

Mustard

Banana

Sesbania

Flat bean

Bitter Gourd

Gliricidea

Chickpea

Ivy gourd

Pigeon Pea

Cashew

Brinjal

Niger

Jowar

French bean

Mango

Papya

Capsicum

Ridge gourd

Tomato

Chaste Tree

Drumstick

Castor

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1. Pollinator Activity and Foraging:

Visits by various insects on selected crops were observed over floral Quadrats.

Apis cerana foraging: As observed on floral Quadrats during the primary data collection, the best timings for A.cerana to be seen on floral Quadrats were during morning (0800h to 1100h) and evening (1500h to 1800h).

The number of bees spotted on floral Quadrats determined the favorability factor of the plant to which the floralQuadrat belonged. The more the number of bees spotted the more favorable the plant species was considered.

It was observed that visits to favorable plants were steady through the day. The most favored plant, the Chaste treewas visited throughout the day equally during morning, afternoon and evening. The visits did not show anyspecific inclination towards any time slot for the preferred plants. As the preference level dropped, the lesspreferred plants were browsed mostly during morning and evening time slots. It may be also noted that theafternoon foraging was invariably seen on favored plants. And afternoon foraging kept on decreasing as'preference' factor of plant species reduced.

Figure 9 : Foraging behavior and favorable plants (Mo: Morning, Af: Afternoon, Ev: Evening)


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32. Composition of insects on floral Quadrat:

In the wide array of insects visiting the floral Quadrat, the visitors were marked under the followingtypes:

1. Apis cerana

2. Apis florea

3. Trigona sps.

4. Apis dorsata

5. Butterflies

6. Other flying insects

7. And other non-flying insects

2.1 Visitor composition in area with bee box :

In areas with the bee box the composition of other insects and other possible pollinators was seen to be influencedby the presence of A. cerana (Fig 10). A. cerana dominated other insect visitors by its numbers in most plant species.However, in the case of castor, French bean, mango, capsicum, ridge gourd and tomato, the numbers of otherflying insects were more than that of A. cerana . Trigona and A. florea were more on ridge gourd than A. cerana .

Figure 10 : Composition of insects at various floral Quadrats in areas with bee box


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2.2 Visitor composition in area without bee box:

In areas without bee box it was seen that the number of visits made by A. cerana was less whencompared to the areas which have boxes. The presence and number of A. cerana seems to be limited.

It should be observed here that the low number, frequency and density of A. cerana in floral Quadrats of WB(without bee box) areas gave space to other flying insects, non-flying insects and butterflies to forage. Many ofthese other flying and non-flying insects are known to physically injure the flower while feeding on it.

Thus the floral Quadrat from WB areas show reduced number of A. cerana visits and a noticeable competitionin numbers from other insect visitors (fig 11).

Figure 11 : Composition of insets at floral Quadrat in areas without box


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33. Number of Apis cerana visits on floral quadrats:

The number of A. cerana visits in areas with bee box was high on almost every floral Quadrat observed (Fig 12). A.cerana was noted in all of the plants studied while in areas without box, the A. cerana availability for floralQuadrat was limited. A. cerana was not seen on most of the plants. Among the plant species visited here weremainly mustard, jowar, niger and french beans. The A. cerana bees seen in the areas without bee boxes might befrom feral colonies.

Figure 12 : Comparative account of Apis cerana visits in areas with (BB) and without bee boxes(WB)


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4. Favorable plants for Apis cerana :

A. cerana during this short term study was observed for its number of visits on the listed plants. Most of these plantswere seen to be in flowering state during the study period. The numbers of visits made on floral Quadrat of thesespecies were considered to derive the favorable factor. During this study, it was observed that A. cerana favoredchaste tree (Nirgudi, Vitex negundo ) followed by mustard, banana, flat bean, bitter gourd and others. Theseconstituted more than 50 percent of the A. cerana visits. In the near future, density and composition of plants can beconsidered for a more suggestive and applicable floral chart. The observation during this short term study is just toarrive at a broader perspective. The density, total flowering period were not considered in this rapid impact

assessment study.

Frenchbean

Capsicum 1%

RidgeGourd 1%

Tomato

Chastetree2%

Castor 3%

Jowar 3%

Niger

MangoPapaya 2%

2%

1% 18% Apis cerana

Brinjal 3% 3%

Cashew

4% PigeonPea

4% IvyGourd

4% Chickpea 4%

Gliricidea 7%

Banana 8%

Mustard

17%

BitterGourd

8% Flatbeans

8%

Figure 13 : Pie chart of Apis cerana forage plants


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3List of plants preferred by Apis cerana (in the order of priority):

Scientific name

1. Vitex negundo

2. Brassica juncea

3. Musa paradisica

4. Dolichos lablab

5. Momordica charantia

6. Gliricidea maculata

7. Cicer arietinum

8. Coccinia grandis

9. Cajanus cajan

10. Anacardium occidentale

11. Solanum melongena

12. Guizotia abyssinica

13. Sorghum bicolour

14. Ricinus communis

15. Phaseolus vulagris

16. Mangifera indica

17. Carica papya

18. Capsicum annuum

19. Luffa acutangula

20. Lycopersicon esculentum


English common name

Chaste tree

Mustard

Banana

Flat beans

Bitter Gourd

Gliricidea

Chickpea

Ivy Gourd

Pigeon Pea

Cashew

Brinjal

Niger

Jowar

Castor

French bean

Mango

Papaya

Capsicum

Ridge Gourd

Tomato

25

Gujarati name

Nirgudi

Rai

Keli

Valpapdi

Karela

Undirmar

Chana

Tindola

Tuar

Kaju

Ringana

Niger (Khursani)

Jowar

Eranda

Papdi

Amba

Papaya

Marcha

Dodka

Tamatar

Apis cerana

151

143

68

66

65

63

36

33

31

31

24

24

23

22

19

17

13

12

9

8

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4Chapter 4 : Observations - Crop productivity1. Productivity increase in areas with bee box:

Comparative observation of productivity of the crops selected for the study was carried out between areas withbee box and areas without bee box. The harvest or produce obtained from Quadrats maintained forproductivity study were carefully noted down on weekly basis. Average productivity data of 4 weeks was taken tomake interpretations. Seasonal data on productivity was collected in case of crops like Chickpea, Pigeon pea, Niger,Mustard and Jowar (Fig 14).

Figure 14 : Percentage increase in productivity

Important fruit crops of this region like Mango and Cashew showed remarkable increase in productivity due tobeekeeping. The positive impact of bee boxes can be seen on the productivity of pulses; although, pulses are known tohave pollination mechanism that does not depend on insects (entomophily) as they are often considered to be self-pollinating crops. Jowar also being a self-pollinated crop still showed increase in productivity. Niger being oneof the very important crops in the study area showed considerable response to the A. cerana presence as theproductivity of this crop increased by a margin of 60%.

2. Number of bee visits and Productivity:

It was observed that the numbers of bee visits are not directly proportional to the productivity. Mustard was oneof the most visited floral Quadrat, yet it did not have the highest productivity amidst studied plants. Capsicumwas not a very favorable plant as far as A. cerana visits were concerned. The numbers of visits in Capsicum were lessthan many favorable species of A. cerana, yet the amount of produce obtained from Capsicum crop in area withthe bee box was seen to be 227 percent more than that in the area without bee box. In Banana, the number of beevisits corresponded to the amount of production increase, while in the case of Bitter gourd, although the numbers ofbee visits were seen to be high, there was no increase in produce. Further, the produce from Bitter gourd in areas withbee box was seen to be less than produce from areas without bee box (Fig 15).


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4

Figure 15 : Comparison between average number of bee visit and percentage increase inproductivity


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Given below is the list of plants and their percentage increase in productivity when compared with plants fromareas without Bee Boxes. Thus practice of beekeeping seems to considerably influence productivity in a positivemanner.

Crop

1. Capsicum

2. Tomato

3. Cashew

4. Pigeon pea

5. Flat bean

6. Chick pea

7. Mustard

8. Mango

9. Banana

10. Niger

11. Papaya

12. French bean

13. Jowar

14. Brinjal

15. Ridge Gourd

16. Bitter Gourd

Percentage increase in crop

227.05%

160.61%

157.89%

133.33%

128.57%

79.5%

75.00%

68.42%

63.16%

60.00%

60.00%

41.15%

33.33%

31.25%

27.27%

-21.52%


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5Chapter 5 : Key findings and discussion1. Activity time: 0900h to 1200h and 1600h to 1800h were the most intense activity times for A. cerana

in the studied region during the period of study. During these time slots highest number of bees wereseen to depart and to arrive at the bee box

2. Pollen and nectar collection: Foraging for pollen and/or nectar depends on the colony strength,availability of brood, availability of forage in the area and atmospheric and soil conditions. Although pollenand nectar foragers can be active simultaneously, the main focus seemed to be on pollen foraging mostlyduring the first half of the day while nectar foraging is focused upon during the second half of the day.This was as expected, because pollen is available for collection during the early morning and morningperiods of the day, and nectar is secreted after the photosynthesis activity starts in the plants, often during

the latter part of the mornings and afternoons.

3. Regulation of forage activity: Temperature plays a critical role in regulation of foraging activity of A.cerana. During November and March A. cerana could start foraging early in the morning while during the coldermonths of December and January the bees would start their activity late in the morning and often restrictedtheir activity till early evening.

4. Regulation of the need of foraging: The need to forage seemed to be regulated by the age andstability of the bee colony. The localities of Sishumal and Tutarkhed which had new colonies demandedmore collection of pollen. Nectar was also needed in such colonies. Thus the foraging activity of bees forsuch new colonies was intense. In Dandwal, the number of bees arriving with pollen load was less andnectar foraging was much more. The bees in older boxes had a steady foraging profile while bees incomparatively younger boxes showed intense activity as they were engaged in brood development.

5. Forage timing on floral Quadrats: Bees depart from the bee boxes on their foraging trips for nectarand pollen. In the areas with bee box, A. cerana preferably visited floral Quadrats during 0900h to 1100h and1600h to 1800h time slots.

6. Favorable plants: Plants which were observed to be visited in large numbers by A. cerana wereconsidered to be their favorites.

7. Exclusive treatment of favorable plants: Mornings and evenings were generally seen to be a

preferred slot for A. cerana visits on most of the plants, but unique and exclusive treatment of some plants by A. cerana was also observed. On some plants the bees were seen to make no differentiation oftiming. Floral Quadrat of such plants were frequented at all times and all three slots i.e. morning, afternoon andevening were progressively used to visit such plants. The number of bees visiting on such plants duringafternoon slot (1200h to 1500h) was considerably more when compared with other plants selected inthe study. In other plants the number of bees visiting during afternoon slot was less and often negligible.

8. Apis cerana population availability: A. cerana availability in areas with bee boxes was significantlymore in number than areas without bee boxes. The presence of good number of A. cerana hadplayed a critical role in increase in pollination and production of crops in the studied area.


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59. Apis cerana influencing insect composition: The presence of A. cerana a ffected the composition of

insect visitors on floral Quadrats. In areas with bee boxes the visitor composition profile was highly dominatedby A. cerana, followed by butterflies, other flying insects, A. florae and Trigona sp. As the number of A. cerana visiting the floral Quadrat fell, the composition profile of insect visitors on floral Quadrat got dominated bynon-flying insects, other flying insects and butterflies followed by A. florea and Trigona sp. In areas withoutbee boxes, the overall composition of insects was variable and could not be defined as it varied from plant toplant. In areas with boxes A. cerana dominated the pollinator composition but, in areas without the bee boxesthe composition was sometimes with A. cerana dominating and often not dominating , as A. cerana population in areas without bee boxes was seen to be low.

10. Impact of Non- Apis cerana dominated pollinator composition: The less availability and often

selective availability of A. cerana allowed other insects to take over. These insects were often notthe specialist pollinator of the corresponding plants that they might visit. This might cause inefficient pollinationservice, destruction of flower morphology thereby increasing mortality of reproductive structure and mightalso disturb the pollinator balance.

11. Role of Apis cerana as pollinator: The areas with A. cerana bee boxes had a considerable increase inproductivity of crops when compared with areas which did not have bee-boxes. Introduction of bee boxes in anarea ensures guaranteed supply of A. cerana in the region. The productivity increase in areas with bee boxesshows importance of A. cerana beekeeping to the crops in the region.

12. Number of bee visit and productivity: It was observed that the number of visits made by A. ceranawas not necessarily directly proportional to the amount of produce gained. This might be due to the foragingbehavior of the bees, environmental factors and/or self- or cross-compatibility and othercharacteristics of the plant species

13. Influence on non-insect pollinated species: In pulses and legumes often it is believed that the role ofcross-pollination is negligible. It has been observed during this study that such plants also seemed to achieveincrement in production. The reason of increment in production might not be pollination in many cases. Thepresence of A. cerana as a dominating bee should be seen from several other perspectives to understand itsvaried role in balancing of various factors and features that affect cropproduction

14. Role of Apis cerana in productivity increase: Out of 16 plants studied for the productivity, only one

species showed reduced productivity in bee box area. Fifteen plant species showed considerable increase inproductivity in areas with A. cerana bee boxes. The exact role of A. cerana as a pollinator can only be assessed byin depth study of their foraging and analysis of nectar and pollen. But the increase in productivity can be stillascertained to the presence A. cerana in good density in areas with boxes. Of the studied plants for productivity15 plants showed increased productivity with high margin, - the lowest being 27 % and highest being 227 %.Thus the role of A. cerana in productivity cannot be questioned and can only be studied in detail further toexplore possibilities of deliberate and strategic attempt to restore population of A. cerana in the ecosystem,landscape and regional level to meet critical objective like increase in crop production, honey production,improvement livelihood and ecological balance. This short term study presents a hope that with Apis cerana the crop production can be engineered positively.


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15.Apis cerana a vital component: A. cerana was observed to be a vital component in agriculturalecosystem as observed during the study phase. Less number of A. cerana was seen to causeconsequences in terms of reduced production. A. cerana was seen to have longer foraging hours,early initiation of foraging and reduced competition as it dominated the pollinator composition

16. Efficiency of Apis cerana as a pollinator: It was observed that A. cerana had long working schedulefrom morning 0700h to evening 1800h and was seen to remain longer at floral Quadrats. This means that it wasmore efficient and could possibly pollinate more number of flowers compared to otherflower visitors

17. Promotion of Apis cerana: Promoting availability of A. cerana by beekeeping appears to be essentialfor enhancing crop productivity in farming systems of the studied locality.


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5

A farmer with his bee box

Important outcomes of the studySome of the very critical outcomes of the study are as follows:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Findings on Percentage productivity increase of 15 plants

Generating list of A. cerana preferable plants produced during the study phase

Findings on role of A. cerana as regulator of pollinator composition

Foraging behavior of A. cerana during the study period

Training of 14 local field investigators

Development of this basic research as a platform to plan in depth and critical long terminvestigation


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Limitations of the studyTime frame: The time frame of the current study is very less and that is why this impact assessment studycan just be a basis of decision making for a longer study. It cannot be used as a scientific model but can still be used asleverage for planning of future projects.

Small data set: The data set obtained from the study is not exhaustive. The interpretations made during this studywere often based on small data sets which might carry errors. Repetitive data collection ensures eliminationof errors associated with small data. Often there has been only 1 set, i.e., 4 weeks of study on productivity; this maynot carry importance on a scientific platform.

Local unexposed field officers: The primary data collection was done by field officers who lacked experience inrepetitive data collection. The manual error associated with data collection during initial stages of exposure andtraining should not be neglected.

Future prospectsReference data base : A database of references, studies and research materials on pollination services, distributionand taxonomy of Apis should be maintained.

Utilization of trained human resources : The 14 field officers trained during this study should be further utilized in this

area so that a rural expertise can be developed and enhanced.

Long term study: A long term study of about 3-5 years should be undertaken in a large area which representsan ecosystem for example Western Ghats or Northern Western Ghats. The study planned should have ageographical perspective. Also the study should have approach from both the aspects, i.e., how beekeeping willincrease crop production and how crop selection will increase honey production. Based on interpretations andobservations made during the current impact assessment, the future studyin this area should cover following objectives:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Status of A. cerana and assessment of minimum population need for efficient pollinationservices in a region

Flora of the region which would help in understanding the composition of plants that favorsbeekeeping to explore scope of increasing production by strategic restoration of plants indesired composition

Assessment of pollinator diversity and density

Study of foraging activity in relation to colony development

Differences in cost of production under pollinator deficit conditions

Scope of A. cerana as a potential pollinator in terms of number and variety of crops it

pollinates and can be made to pollinate


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BibliographyAhmad R., Camphor E., Ahmad M. (1983) Factors affecting honey yield of the oriental honey bee, Apiscerana in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 4 (3)

Bhamoriya V., Tribal rehabilitation for livelihood enhancement: Experience of DHRUVA

Bhuiyan M. K. H., Hossainand M .M., Bari M. N. (2002). Rearing and Management of Apis cerana (F.)and occurrence of pests in honeybee colonies . Journal of Biological Sciences 2 (1): 14-17

Dar S.A., Khan Z.H., and Abass A., (2010). Pollinator Decline: A Major Issue in Crop Production.

Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences 2010, 1(4): 491-493

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