Towards Excellence

(ISSN No. 0974-035X)
(An indexed refereed & peer-reviewed journal of higher education)
UGC-MALAVIYA MISSION TEACHER TRAINING CENTRE GUJARAT UNIVERSITY

IN SEARCH OF HONEY: DELINEATION OF MIGRATION PATHS FOR APICULTURISTS IN WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Authors:

Sanghamitra Purkait , Anindya Basu

Abstract:

Apiculture industry is very closely linked with the environment. Without nature, apiculture is impossible and without bees i.e. the main agent of apiculture, nature will be in a disorder. Beekeeping as an agricultural activity constitutes many aspects which are impacted by environmental and geographical factors. Beekeeping is also important for wide economical aspect of honey production and the essential ecological services provided by honeybees. In modern beekeeping the quick identification of honey flow regions with maximized productivity can help the apiculture industry for increasing total honey production. The main issue of beekeepers is to ensure regular supply of food to their bees mainly by migrating the colonies in flowering areas. In this article West Bengal has been selected as a study area as it stands at second position nationally in terms of production of honey at present. West Bengal has several ‘bee pasturage’ with different ‘honey flow periods’ and different ‘dearth periods’ across the seasons. Migration paths has been described through the use of Arc-GIS 10.5 software. This study will help the beekeepers of West Bengal to remove the asymmetry of information on bee pasturage and to access the suitable migration path for them which in turn will help to develop the apiculture industry.

Keywords:

Apiculture, Honey flow, Bee pasturage, Migration Period and Dearth period.

Vol & Issue:

VOL.14, ISSUE No.1, March 2022