Bees, The Buzz-Word For Better Farm Yields

Honey apart, bees are being used by many countries to enhance crop yield, but India is yet to tap this potential. Had India paid enough attention to utilise the services provided by bees, it would have helped it become self-sufficient in oilseeds and pulses production, says a report in the journal Current Science.

The other crops that could benefit from bees are onions, beans, coffee, alfalfa, grapes, oranges, litchis, apples and plums. Bees help improve production in self-sterile plants that depends on outside agents such as wind, insects birds and water to disperse pollen.

The report says that even by conservative estimates, edible oil production would have touched 37 million tonnes, an increase of 66 per cent over the current output. This would have made India one of the largest exporters of edible oils instead of an importer. It is estimated that US earns about $8 million annually due to enhanced crop production from bee pollination.

 

Similarly, Malaysia became a global leader in the production of palm oil within a decade after the introduction of weevil, an insect, for facilitating pollination.

The report says even countries like China, Mexico and Argentina are far ahead of India in apiary exports, while India is unrepresented in this area. Though rapid developments have taken place in bee science in other countries, it is in a state of mess in India, though the National Commission for Agriculture has recommended its promotion two decades back, the report says.

The report finds it apalling that the commissions recommendations aimed at increasing bee population and their applications have been treated with `disdain resulting in economic losses to the country. It says bee research is in a neglected state with a severe dearth of researchers. There are only about a dozen scientists who are working on bee-related branches and after a brief stint they readily switch to other subjects.

Also, bee science is conspicuously omitted form the list of subjects covered under Indian Council of Agricultural Research, though it covers a vast array of subjects.

The report says indiscriminate use of pesticides, chemicals and intensive farming practices in recent years have caused a steady decline in the number of natural pollinators inhabiting soil, making `pollinator management even more important. Bees can easily fill this void.

It points out that the pollinating efficiency of non-honey bees is so high that only less than thousand bees are adequate to pollinate a hectare of crop whereas 50-60 times the number of honey bees would be required for the same purpose. They can also bee easily transported to the fields, reducing the need for moving bee hives.

The report says India with a wealth of bee-pollinated crops grown over a third of the area, can reap benefits comparable to US provided this eco-friendly, low-cost method can be harnessed to its potential.

In field trials carried out in Punjab, moving bee hives in sunflower fields produced yield 300 per cent in excess of the average, which is unequalled by any other crop, even rice or wheat for which it is reputed, the report says.