Shimla, Apr 3: The
horticulture scientists of Dr Y S Parmar University Solan has urged the apple
growers to focus on proper pollination practices for getting better yield in
their orchards.
The scientists were speaking at the recently organised
day-long demonstration camp on the ‘Role of Managed Pollination in Apple
Orchards’ which was attended by farmers from Shimla, Chamba, Sirmour and Mandi
district of Himachal Pradesh.
The camp was held under the World Bank funded Himachal
Pradesh Horticulture Development Project (HPHDP ). As many as 52 persons, who
are 'contact farmers' and stakeholders in the project attended the camp, along
with 12 officers of the Horticulture Department.
The nodal officer of the project in the university is Dr JN
Sharma, who is also the Director Research of the university. The university
scientists have been part of the project for the past two years.
Explaining about the camp, project coordinator Dr Harish
Sharma said, “The activity aims to explain the topic of managed pollination.
Thorough practical sessions on the preparation of honey bee colony for
pollination and the use of pollen dispenser for ensuring proper pollination in
apple were organised for the participants, who all happen to be progressive
apple growers.”
Besides general information about the importance of
beekeeping, the farmers also learned about the identification of important
insect pollinators and the strategies to conserve them. As per Dr Harish, the
main idea was to apprise the farmers on the vital role played by bees and other
insect pollinators and motivate them to implement it in their orchards and reap
its benefits.
Moreover, the farmers were given live demonstration at the
university apiary where topics like transportation of bee colonies and bee
management were discussed. They also learned how to protect the bees in case
there was a need to use spray on the trees/fields. Field visit to the
high-density plantations of newly introduced apple varieties under the HPHDP
project was also undertaken where the forager behaviour of the bees was
explained to the farmers.
Dr Anju Khanna, Head, UHF’s Department of Entomology
explained that the lack of managed pollination especially honey bee colonies
was taking a toll on the agricultural output of the state and resulting in poor
fruit set and low productivity. This eventually led to the loss of income for
farmers. UNI
