Journal of Plant Sciences

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Screening of Potential Shrubs for Bee Forage Development

Received: 22 July 2017    Accepted: 02 August 2017    Published: 26 October 2017
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Abstract

Availability of adequate honeybee forage plants is very important for honey production. The study was therefore conducted to screen the best performing bee forages from five plant species with a view to selecting for honey production for high and mid land agro-ecologies. The planting materials were Vernonia amygdalina, Buddleja polystachya, Callistemon citrinus, Dovyalis caffra and Chamecytisus proliferus. The species were evaluated based on the number of flower heads per plants, foraging intensity of honeybees, flowering length and amount of pollen. C. citrinus, C. proliferus and V. amygdalina were set flower with the ranges of two to three and half years while B. polystachya, and D. caffra didn’t reach to set flower up to the end of five years. V. amygdalina and C. proliferus provides significantly higher pollen compared to C. citrinus. Average number of flower heads per plant were highest for C. proliferus and it was significantly different (p<0.05) from the rest. The flowering time of C. citrinus, C. proliferus and V. amygdalina are almost during the dearth period at which only a few bee forage plant species in flower around the area. V. amygdalina and C. citrinus was highly foraged by honeybees from 10:00am-12:00 am, while C. proliferus 10:00 am -2:00pm. C. citrinus has the highest flowering time with duration up to six months in a blooming state having lots of flower heads and the rest months with few flowers. Generally, the study revealed that C. citrinus, C. proliferus and V. amygdalina were selected as major bee forage plants. However, it requires further evaluation particularly on nectar volume and sugar concentration for these plants and their integration with watershed development is recommended. Since they were flowered in dearth period and their further multiplication is recommended to increase honey production.

DOI 10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15
Published in Journal of Plant Sciences (Volume 5, Issue 5, October 2017)
Page(s) 160-164
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Shrubs, Flowering Period, Foraging Intensity, Set Flower, Bee Forage

References
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[2] Baptist, B. A. and R. K. W. Punchihewa (1983). A preliminary Analysis of the principal factors will affect honey production in Sri Lanka. In: Second International Conference on apiculture in Tropical climates. NewDelhi. P. 95.
[3] Bista, S. and Shivakoti, G (2000). Honeybee Flora at Kabre, Dolakha District. Nepal Agric. Res. J., Vol. 4 & 5 pp.
[4] Blazyte-Cereskiene, L., Vaitkeviciene, G., Venskutonyte, S., Buda, V (2010). Honey bee foraging in spring oilseed rape crops under high ambient temperature conditions. Zemdirbyste-Agriculture 97, 61-70.
[5] Collett, T. S., Graham, P. and Durier, V (2003). Route learning by insects. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 13 pp, 718-725.
[6] Crane, E (1990). Bees and beekeeping, science, practice and world resource Heinemann Newness, London pp 190.
[7] FAO (2003). State of the World’s Forests. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
[8] FAO (2004). Conservation and management of pollinators for sustainable agriculture–The International response. A contribution to the International Workshop on solitary bees and their role in pollination held in Berberibe, Cerara, Brazil, PP 19-25.
[9] Fichtl, R. and Admasu Addi (1994). Honeybee Flora of Ethiopia. Margraf Verlage, Germany, pp. 510.
[10] Ahmad, K. J., Razzaq, A., Abbasi, K. H., Shafiq, M., Saleem, M., Arshadullah, M (2013). Thymol as control agent of mites (Varroa destructor) on honeybees (Apis mellifera). Pak J Agri Res 26 (4): 316-320.
[11] John, B. A, Gordon, R. H and Parrish, DJ (1987). Plant Science. McGraw-Hill publishing Company. 126582. PP. 29-36.
[12] Kevan, P., Menzel, R (2012). The plight of pollination and the interface of neurobiology, ecology and food security. The Environmentalist 32: 300–310.
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[14] Qayyoum, M. A., Khan, B. S., Bashir, M. H (2013). Efficacy of plant extracts against honey bee mite, Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae). World J Zool 8 (2): 212-216.
[15] Reyes-Carrillo, J. L., Eischen, F. A., Cano-Rios, P., Rodriguez- Martinez, R., Camberos, U. N (2007).
[16] Tura Bareke Kifle, Kibebew Wakjira Hora, Admassu Addi Merti (2014). Screening of Potential Herbaceous Honey Plants for Beekeeping Development. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 3(5)386-391. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20140305.19.
[17] Tura Bareke Kifle, Kibebew Wakjira Hora, Admassu Addi Merti (2014). Investigating the Role of Apiculture in Watershed Management and Income Improvement in Galessa Protected Area, Ethiopia. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. 3(5) 380-385. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20140305.18.
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Author Information
  • Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Holeta Bee Research Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Holeta Bee Research Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Holeta Bee Research Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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    Tura Bareke, Admasu Addi, Kibebew Wakjira. (2017). Screening of Potential Shrubs for Bee Forage Development. Journal of Plant Sciences, 5(5), 160-164. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15

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    Tura Bareke; Admasu Addi; Kibebew Wakjira. Screening of Potential Shrubs for Bee Forage Development. J. Plant Sci. 2017, 5(5), 160-164. doi: 10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15

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    AMA Style

    Tura Bareke, Admasu Addi, Kibebew Wakjira. Screening of Potential Shrubs for Bee Forage Development. J Plant Sci. 2017;5(5):160-164. doi: 10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15,
      author = {Tura Bareke and Admasu Addi and Kibebew Wakjira},
      title = {Screening of Potential Shrubs for Bee Forage Development},
      journal = {Journal of Plant Sciences},
      volume = {5},
      number = {5},
      pages = {160-164},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jps.20170505.15},
      abstract = {Availability of adequate honeybee forage plants is very important for honey production. The study was therefore conducted to screen the best performing bee forages from five plant species with a view to selecting for honey production for high and mid land agro-ecologies. The planting materials were Vernonia amygdalina, Buddleja polystachya, Callistemon citrinus, Dovyalis caffra and Chamecytisus proliferus. The species were evaluated based on the number of flower heads per plants, foraging intensity of honeybees, flowering length and amount of pollen. C. citrinus, C. proliferus and V. amygdalina were set flower with the ranges of two to three and half years while B. polystachya, and D. caffra didn’t reach to set flower up to the end of five years. V. amygdalina and C. proliferus provides significantly higher pollen compared to C. citrinus. Average number of flower heads per plant were highest for C. proliferus and it was significantly different (p<0.05) from the rest. The flowering time of C. citrinus, C. proliferus and V. amygdalina are almost during the dearth period at which only a few bee forage plant species in flower around the area. V. amygdalina and C. citrinus was highly foraged by honeybees from 10:00am-12:00 am, while C. proliferus 10:00 am -2:00pm. C. citrinus has the highest flowering time with duration up to six months in a blooming state having lots of flower heads and the rest months with few flowers. Generally, the study revealed that C. citrinus, C. proliferus and V. amygdalina were selected as major bee forage plants. However, it requires further evaluation particularly on nectar volume and sugar concentration for these plants and their integration with watershed development is recommended. Since they were flowered in dearth period and their further multiplication is recommended to increase honey production.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Screening of Potential Shrubs for Bee Forage Development
    AU  - Tura Bareke
    AU  - Admasu Addi
    AU  - Kibebew Wakjira
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    PY  - 2017
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15
    T2  - Journal of Plant Sciences
    JF  - Journal of Plant Sciences
    JO  - Journal of Plant Sciences
    SP  - 160
    EP  - 164
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2331-0731
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jps.20170505.15
    AB  - Availability of adequate honeybee forage plants is very important for honey production. The study was therefore conducted to screen the best performing bee forages from five plant species with a view to selecting for honey production for high and mid land agro-ecologies. The planting materials were Vernonia amygdalina, Buddleja polystachya, Callistemon citrinus, Dovyalis caffra and Chamecytisus proliferus. The species were evaluated based on the number of flower heads per plants, foraging intensity of honeybees, flowering length and amount of pollen. C. citrinus, C. proliferus and V. amygdalina were set flower with the ranges of two to three and half years while B. polystachya, and D. caffra didn’t reach to set flower up to the end of five years. V. amygdalina and C. proliferus provides significantly higher pollen compared to C. citrinus. Average number of flower heads per plant were highest for C. proliferus and it was significantly different (p<0.05) from the rest. The flowering time of C. citrinus, C. proliferus and V. amygdalina are almost during the dearth period at which only a few bee forage plant species in flower around the area. V. amygdalina and C. citrinus was highly foraged by honeybees from 10:00am-12:00 am, while C. proliferus 10:00 am -2:00pm. C. citrinus has the highest flowering time with duration up to six months in a blooming state having lots of flower heads and the rest months with few flowers. Generally, the study revealed that C. citrinus, C. proliferus and V. amygdalina were selected as major bee forage plants. However, it requires further evaluation particularly on nectar volume and sugar concentration for these plants and their integration with watershed development is recommended. Since they were flowered in dearth period and their further multiplication is recommended to increase honey production.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 5
    ER  - 

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