Trainees attending the practical session during the advanced training conducted by Nagaland Beekeeping & Honey Mission at NBHM Multi Utility Centre, Sovima on April 8 and 9.
Chümoukedima, April 9 (MExN): A two-day advanced training on ‘queen bee breeding for empowering beekeepers for sustainable beekeeping in Nagaland’ was conducted by Nagaland Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) at NBHM Multi Utility Centre (MUC), Sovima, Chümoukedima District on April 8 and 9.
A press release from NBHM stated that this training a first of its kind in North East India on Apiscerana queen bee breeding was attended by 16 progressive bee breeders from 10 districts of Nagaland, two faculty members of Zoology Department, Kohima Science college Jotsoma and a representative from CIHSR.
On the first day, technical topics such as queen bee biology, queen bee rearing techniques, tools and equipments for grafting and re-queening of honeybee colonies with power points and video clips were presented by members of NBHM. The day ended with the trainees being taken to the School of Agricultural Sciences (SAS), Entomology Department, for an exposure on the research undertaken by All India Coordinated Research Project on Honey Bees & Pollinators (AICRP-HB&P) where they had interaction in apiary with Scientist Dr Avinash Chauhan.
The second day started with practical on ‘preparation of wax blocks and queen cell cups’, grafting- preparation of royal jelly, placement of queen cell cup and transfer of larvae. Trainees were also shown the Honey Processing Plant and Honey Testing Lab at MUC.
“This training had equipped the progressive beekeepers in upgrading their skills in becoming certified bee breeders which will create more revenue for them by catering to the demands of bee colonies across the State,” NBHM stated in its release.
