Italian bees play pivotal role in pollination

Rajasthan, Haryana an Uttar Pradesh are catering to the demand of Italian bees due to the inadequate number of indigenous bees required for bee pollination in apple orchards in Himachal Pradesh.

Apple growers are hiring beehives f rom Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh because they are a hub for imported bees. Owing to a small number of pollinators in apple orchards, bees play a pivotal role in pollination.

Horticulture experts suggest that out of all the varieties of apples grown in an orchard, one fourth of those should be of pollinating varieties. Since these varieties fetch low prices in the market, growers have replaced them with tra- ditional red delicious apples, hence, reducing the number of pollinating varieties. To make up for the loss, bee pollination becomes all the more important in apple orchards.

Earlier, in traditional houses there was space to keep indigenous bees- the Apis cerana.

The cerana i s an active bee which is useful in hilly climes but has fewer colonies in orchards. With the intrusion of modern houses, cerana bee colonies have been unable to increase as per the requirement of orchards.

After the state horticulture department and University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni urged farmers to use imported species, Apis mellifera, they have adopted bee keeping in a big way, especially in the apple belts.

Mellifera, an Italian bee, is not easily available in government agencies, and so, other agencies have been providing beehives to growers interested in bee keeping for pollination in orchards.

Nauni University scientist Dr Harish Sharma said though there was a need to preserve and increase the population of the cerana bee but for pollination, imported bees were a good alternative.

“Growers hire beehives from various states and use them in their orchards during pollination time,” said Dr Sharma, adding t hat i t was necessary because the climate in Himachal Pradesh throughout the year was not suitable for the Italian bee. Temperature above 11 degrees Celsius was required for bees to function as pollen carriers.