UpdateBot at 10:28, 24 May 2022

2022-05-24T10:28:15Z

New page

{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
[[File:Honey box used by farmers in Kerala.jpg|thumb|alt=A teal coloured wooden box with blue coloured plastic cover.|Honey box used by farmers in the Indian state of [[Kerala]]]]
[[File:Honey & Bee Museum, Ooty DSC00586.JPG|thumb|Honey and Bee Museum in Ooty]]
[[File:Hand Held Basket from Ooty, Tamilnadu, India.JPG|thumb|A hand held bamboo basket at display in the Honey and Bee Museum, Ooty. The basket was used to harvest honey by honeyhunters.]]
'''Beekeeping in India''' has been mentioned in ancient [[Vedas]] and [[Buddhist scriptures]]. Rock paintings of [[Mesolithic]] era found in [[Madhya Pradesh]] depict honey collection activities. Scientific methods of [[beekeeping]], however, started only in the late 19th century, although records of taming honeybees and using in warfare are seen in the early 19th century. After [[Independence of India|Indian independence]], beekeeping was promoted through various rural developmental programs. Five species of bees that are commercially important for natural honey and beeswax production are found in India.

== History ==

=== Antiquity ===
Bees, honey and beekeeping have been mentioned in various Hindu Vedic scriptures of India like ''[[Rig Veda]], [[Atharva Veda]], [[Upanishad]]s, [[Bhagavad Gita]], [[Markandeya Purana]], [[Raj Nighantu]], [[Bharat Samhita]], [[Arthashastra]]'', and ''[[Amar Kosha]]''. Various Buddhist scriptures like ''[[Vinaya Pitaka]], [[Abhidhamma Pitaka]]'' and ''[[Jataka tales]]'' also mention bees and honey. Vatsayana's ''[[Kamasutra]]'' mentions honey to play significant factor in sexual pleasures.{{Sfn|Ghosh|1994|p=xiii}} The popular epic ''[[Ramayana]]'' describes a "Madhuban" (literally honey forest) that was cultivated by [[Sugriva]]. A different Madhuban is also mentioned in the epic ''[[Mahabharata]]'' near the present day [[Mathura]] where [[Krishna]] and [[Radha]] used to meet. The forest was used to tame bees to make India "land of honey and milk".{{Sfn|Ghosh|1994|p=6}}

=== Modern history ===
Various rock paintings dating to [[Mesolithic]] and post-Mesolithic era are found in the [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Pachmarhi]] regions. The paintings mainly depict honey collection activities in the wild from honey combs of ''[[Apis dorsata]]'' and ''[[Apis cerana]]'' bees.{{Sfn|Crane|2013|pp=73–74}}

When [[British Raj|British]] attacked the eastern coast of present-day [[Odisha]] state in 1842–49, the [[Kondha]] tribe is noted to have used tamed bees against them. But little is known about the techniques used by them for taming.{{Sfn|Ghosh|1994|p=6}} Various tribes in the hilly areas of [[Manipur]] and [[Nagaland]] used wooden logs or earthen wares for beekeeping. But crude methods of squeezing out honey from honeycombs were used that had possibility of adulterating honey with the [[beeswax]] and also killing many bees in the process. A hollow bamboo with a nail attached to pierce the comb has been used by Manipuri tribes. The hollow bamboo would allow flowing of honey to another barrel.{{Sfn|Ghosh|1994|p=5-6}}

Unsuccessful attempts of scientific beekeeping were made in the [[West Bengal]] region in 1880 and in [[Punjab]] and [[Kullu]] regions during 1883–84 to keep ''[[Apis cerana]]''. ''Hand Book of Beekeeping'' by Douglas, a British officer of Post and Telegraph Department, was the first book published in India in 1884. The first successful attempt was made by Reverend Newton in [[Kerala]] when he developed a specifically designed hive and started training rural people during 1911–17 to harvest honey from beekeeping. The design became popularly known as "Newton hive". Considerable beekeeping activities were taken up in [[Travancore]] areas in 1917 and in [[Mysore]] areas in 1925. The activities gained impetus in [[Madras]] regions in 1931, Punjab in 1933 and in [[Uttar Pradesh]] in 1938. [[All India Beekeepers Association]] was formed during 1938–39 and the first [[Beekeeping Research Station]] was established in Punjab in 1945 by the [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]].<ref name="Hist">{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HP6PBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |title= Beekeeping for Poverty Alleviation and Livelihood Security: Vol. 1: Technological Aspects of Beekeeping |publisher= Springer |pages=14–15 |author1=Rakesh Kumar Gupta |author2=Wim Reybroeck |author3=Johan W. van Veen |author4=Anuradha Gupta |year=2014 |isbn= 9789401791991 }}</ref> Beekeeping was included in a curriculum by the Agriculture College, Coimbatore (now [[Tamil Nadu Agricultural University]]) in 1931.{{Sfn|Ghosh|1994|p=10}}

=== Post independence ===
{| class="plainrowheaders collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%"
! scope="col" style="background-color:#F4F4F4" | Annual production of Beeswax and Natural Honey <br> ''Source:'' UN Food & Agriculture Organization, FAOSTAT<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faostat3.fao.org/browse/Q/QL/E|title=Honey production: Browse data – FAOSTAT Domains /Production/Livestock Primary; Item: Honey, natural; Beeswax; Area: India; Year: as needed". |access-date=6 May 2016 |date=2018 |work=United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization, Statistics Division (FAOSTAT)}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"|
{{ #invoke:Chart | bar-chart
| width = 1000
| group 1 = 19400 : 19400 : 19400 : 19600 : 19400 : 19400 : 19400 : 19600 : 19600 : 19600 : 19600 : 19600 : 19600 : 19600 : 19600 : 21200 : 21200 : 23000 : 23000 : 23100 : 23200 : 23399 : 23955 : 24918 : 25523 : 25895
| group 2 = 48307 : 47437 : 56173 : 52000 : 51000 : 52121 : 56945 : 52000 : 52000 : 52000 : 52000 : 52000 : 52000 : 52000 : 51000 : 55000 : 55000 : 60000 : 60000 : 60000 : 61000 : 61938 : 62472 : 64899 : 66415 : 67442
| colors = blue: grey
| group names = Beeswax (in tonnes) : Natural Honey (in tonnes)
| x legends = 1993 : 1994 : 1995 : 1996 : 1997 : 1998 : 1999 : 2000 : 2001 : 2002 : 2002 : 2004 : 2005 : 2006 : 2007 : 2008 : 2009 : 2010 : 2011 : 2012 : 2013 : 2014 : 2015 : 2016 : 2017 : 2018
}}
|}

After the [[Independence of India]] in 1947, the importance of beekeeping was stressed by [[Mahatma Gandhi]] by including it in his rural development programmes. Initially, the beekeeping industry was under the All India Khadi and Village Industries Board which was converted to [[Khadi and Village Industries Commission]] (KVIC) in 1956, which in turn was under the Ministry of Industry. In 1962, [[Central Bee Research and Training Institute]] was established by KVIC at [[Pune]].<ref name="Hist"/> Beekeeping was promoted along with rubber plantations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu regions by [[YMCA]] and other Christian missionaries. [[Coorg]] region of Karnataka and [[Mahabaleshwar]] also saw developments in beekeeping. The [[Ramakrishna Mission]] promoted it in [[Northeast India|Northeastern states]] and [[West Bengal]]. The [[Punjab Agricultural University]] started research on the topic and promoted it by introducing ''Apis Mellifera'' bees.{{Sfn|Ghosh|1994|p=11-12}}

The production of honey in India increased significantly towards the late 1990s. 70% of honey production comes from informal segments. As major exporter of honey, India falls behind China, Argentina, Germany, Hungary, Mexico and Spain. In 2005, India's honey exports reached a value of {{USD}} 26.4 million. 66% percent of this was consumed by [[North American Free Trade Agreement|NAFTA countries]]. {{USD}} 6 million worth of honey was consumed by [[European Union]] in which [[Germany]] took the most approximating to 75%. In 2005, [[Saudi Arabia]] was the only developing country to consume Indian honey of a considerable {{USD}} 2.2 million. India's export in 1996 was far less to approximately {{USD}} 1 million.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sadctrade.org/files/Honey%20Trade%20Information%20Brief.pdf | title=Trade Information Brief – Honey | work=SADC Trade | access-date=6 May 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421074707/http://www.sadctrade.org/files/Honey%20Trade%20Information%20Brief.pdf | archive-date=21 April 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

As the [[Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve|Nilgiris region]] of Tamil Nadu in southern India has various tribes of honey collectors, [[Kotagiri]]-based Keystone Foundation started a [[Honey and Bee Museum]] in 2007 in the town of [[Ooty]] in [[Tamil Nadu]] to promote beekeeping and techniques involved.<ref name="Hotel"/><ref name="beemuseum">{{Cite web|title=Tourism – Honey & Bee Museum |url=http://nilgiris.nic.in/honey_bee.html |date=2012-02-25 |publisher=Nilgiris District Administration |access-date=May 6, 2016 }}</ref> The group also opened a restaurant "A Place to Bee" in 2015 at Ooty that specializes in honey recipes.<ref name="Hotel">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a-buzzworthy-effort/article7747583.ece | title=A buzzworthy effort | work=[[The Hindu]] | date=10 October 2015 | access-date=6 May 2016 | author=Shonali Muthalaly}}</ref>

== Types of bees ==
Six species of bees of commercial importance are found in India; ''[[Apis dorsata]]'' (Rock bee), the Himalayan species, ''[[Apis laboriosa]]''), ''[[Apis cerana indica]]'' (Indian hive bee), ''[[Apis florea]]'' (dwarf bee), ''[[Apis mellifera]]'' (European or Italian bee), and ''[[Tetragonula iridipennis]]'' (Dammer or stingless bee). Rock bees are aggressive and cannot be maintained but are harvested from the wild. Honey from dwarf bees is also harvested from the wild as these are nomadic and produce very small yields. Native ''Apis cerana'' and ''Apis mellifera'' introduced from the temperate zone are more amenable to culturing in artificial bee boxes. Dammer bees can be domesticated and are important factors in pollination of various crops but produce little honey.<ref name="TNAU">{{cite web | url=http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/farm_enterprises/fe_api_typesofhoneybee.html | title=Types of honey bee | publisher=[[Tamil Nadu Agricultural University]] | access-date=4 May 2016}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Average honey yield per year per hive<ref name="TNAU" />
! Bee !! Yield
|-
| ''Apis dorsata'' ||{{Convert|36|kg}}
|-
| ''Apis cerana indica'' || {{Convert|6|kg}} to {{Convert|8|kg}}
|-
| ''Apis florea'' || {{Convert|500|g}}
|-
| ''Apis mellifera'' || {{Convert|25|kg}} to {{Convert|40|kg}}
|-
| ''Tetragonula iridipennis'' || {{Convert|100|g}}
|-
|}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
*{{cite book|first=Ethel |last=Crane|title=The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVh3AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA494 |publisher=Routledge |year= 2013 |isbn=9781136746697}}
*{{cite book|first=GK |last=Ghosh|title=Beekeeping in India|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MGRo1OTyUT8C |year=1994|publisher= APH Publishing|isbn= 9788170246442}}
{{BeeColonyMemberTypes}}

[[Category:Beekeeping in India| ]]
[[Category:Agriculture in India]]

Beekeeping in India - Revision history

UpdateBot at 10:28, 24 May 2022