PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEE IN DANG DISTRICT OF NEPAL

Abstract

This paper studied the production and management of honey bee in dang district. 35 respondent rearing commercially honey bee of Tulsipur and Ghorahi sub-metropolitan city and Banglachuli rural municipality were selected by using Purposive sampling techniques out of 141 commercial bee growers (Registered AKC, PMAMP). Structure questionnaire where designed to sample opinion of respondents. Data were collected using M-water surveyor mobile Application by using pretesting questionnaire and analyzed using MS-Excel, Statistical Package of Social Science. Results obtained that 72% respondents commercially rearing Apis millifera and 11% rearing Apis cerana. Farmers having 22-117 numbers of hives found maximum (77%). Maximum number of hives rearing found was 500 by commercial bee keepers. Average hive number and Average productivity found were 98 and 31.2kg per hive per year (Apis millifera). 89% respondent were found increasing their enterprise and good source of income was found as the main reason to increase their enterprise whereas 11% respondent were decreasing their enterprise and Shortage of forage was found as the main reason to decrease their enterprise. Hive cleaning practice was adopted by majority of the farmer (40%) to protect the hive from rainy and summer season whereas feeding with sugar syrup was adopted by most of the farmer (80%) during rainy and summer season. Hive covering with jute sacs and straw was found most adopted practice (69%) to protect the bee colonies during winter season. Commercial bee keepers having more number of bee hives and migrate their beehives for foraging in different places outside the valley were found 4 and more times honey harvesting whereas two times harvesting was found by beekeepers rearing Apis cerana. Most of the farmer used to sell honey from farm gate (94%) however the most selling was done to the whole sellers due to lack of storing and processing equipment.