Apiary- the science of bee-keeping

Global honey production -

The Global production is growing at about 15 % annually. Asia, accounts for about a third of the global production, is expected to witness a 15 to 20 % growth. China dominates Asian honey production with Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia and India being the other major producers.

Indian status -

Apiculture has tremendous scope for growth in the country. India is blessed in that the most important species of bees (in terms of honey production) are Apis dorseta, Apis serena Indica, Apis florea and Apis mellifera are all found here. Punjab is the country's largest producer of honey. One of the reasons for the growth in honey production in Punjab has been the state's strong dominance in the agri-sector. This helped the state to practice migratory bee-keeping, a method which is not being promoted aggressively by other states. In the south, Kerala is well known for rubber honey(honey collected from rubber plantations) while Coorg district in Karnataka is one of the large honey producing districts. There is immense potential to promote apiary in regions like Bagalkot which have large areas under sunflower cultivation.

Different species have different yield levels and are popular among different honey collectors. A species like Apis dorseta, for instance, thrives in the wild. This is tapped by tribals for collecting honey.

Other varieties like Apis mellifera have helped states like Punjab to become numero uno in honey production. Species like Apis serena Indica are the most popular and widely domesticated variety. Each colony has about 35,000 bees on an average.

One of the most vital developments recently has been the apiary promotion programme being undertaken by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). This has helped apiary gain popularity in different states. There is good scope for the growth of this industry.