ANNUAL REPORT OF 1981-82
SOME WORK ON THE MELLIFEROUS FLORA
OF
B U R M A
Maung Maung Than
Introduction
The need of bee
plant knowledge is very great. Beekeeping management without this will be
difficult. Dr. Roger A. Morse in his recent visit to Burma has stated that also. Either
for bee pollination or honey production colonies must be strong. Also producing
of bee products cannot be achieved without strong colonies. Only careful
planning utilizing the existing flora with skilled management can build up
strong colonies.
To be able to
plan well we need complete data on bee plants, their name, abundance, duration
of blooming, time of blooming, accessibility etc., etc.,. Also sucrose
concentration and amount of pollen available are very important factors. Data
presented here are compiled from two year's work, first in Hmawbi and then in
Maymyo. Also the data of Taunggyi apiaries has been added and also of the
migratory beekeeping stations of middle Burma and delta areas. This is a
combined effort and every thank is due to everybody who been concerned in
improving our beekeeping project.
In other
countries where beekeeping has been greatly advanced there are many
publications on bee plant information. We have not even gained full knowledge
of our flora yet and are still trying to. We hope this paper can serve as a
very small step in filling this gap of bee plant knowledge.
Bee plant calendar
In table (1) the
combined bee plant calendar for Maymyo, Taunggyi and Hmawbi is presented.
Maymyo and Taunggyi stand for the Northern and Southern Shan States
respectively. Nearly all the plants have been checked and rechecked. Sucrose
concentrations given are measured in these localities. Method used is capillary
tubes with sucrose refractometer. Hmawbi stands for the lower Burma .
Table (2) is the
simpler form to be used in constructing beekeeping calendars. Only important
plants are given in table (2) and the time shown are the most crucial periods.
Some species have not been classified into the genus level yet and only the local
names and family names have been given for them.
Grade column: Here the "grade" column
included in the bee plant calendar will be explained. Five groups are formed
out of the previously recorded bee plants.
Grade 1: Plants with a very high economical
beekeeping contribution are characterized by a very high honey potential,
covering important areas and supplying important annual flows:-
Example: Sunflower (Helianthus annuus),
Zee (zizyphus jujuba), wild sunflower (Tithonia tagetifolia),
Sesame (Sesamum indicum)
Grade 2: Plants with a high economical
beekeeping contribution are those which are characterized by a high honey
potential, covering rather large areas and supplying periodic or annual honey
flows:
Example: Citrus spps, niger (Guizotia
abyssinica), Mon-nyin (Brassica spp), Coconut (Cocos nucifera),
Bizat (Eupatorium odorantum).
Grade 3: Plants with a medium economical
beekeeping contribution are those supplying sustained annual maintenance and development
flows (nectar or pollen) and under favourable ecological conditions even a main
flow.
Example: Pe-sin-ngon (Cajanus indicus),
Met-man (Prunus insititia), Corn (Zea mays).
Grade 4: The plants with a low economical
beekeeping contribution are those frequently supplying nectar or pollen flows
for the maintenance of the bee colonies without ensuring main flows.
Example: Sein-che (Coreopsis tinctorius), Mala-ka (Psidiun
guajava), Ngu-sat-gyi (Cassia grandis).
Grade 5: The plants without any beekeeping
economical contribution are the ones supplying a nectar or pollen flow only
from time to time and for a short period, covering either small areas or
producing small nectar or pollen amounts.
Example: Khaing-shwe-wa (Berberis nepalensis),
Pan-ei (Lagerstroemia indica), Dahlia (Dahlia spps).
Criticism is
openly invited from anybody if they think the grouping in the presented
calendar is unsatisfactory in some particular species. Plants do differently in
different areas and these groupings may not be final.
Present Major Honey Plants
1. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) : : For the present it is the number one
honey crop of Burma .
Also it is becoming as a major cooking oil crop in Burma 's agriculture. It can be
grown at any time provided that there is sufficient amount of water supply,
only the flowering must not coincide with heavy rains. So mostly it's natural
blooming tine is at November and December if the plants have been brought up by
the precipitation and along January to May where irrigation is used. In Taunggyi
areas the natural (precipitation) grown sunflower fields are one of the major
honey sources. At Delta regions and middle Burma (the areas using irrigations)
considerable amounts of honey have been extracted and very good colony
development results obtained in migratory apiaries. For the 1982-83 the first
sunflower flow will be at Taunggyi (November, December) then at Maubin or delta
(January to March) and it overlapped with Kyauk-ta-ga (March to May). The
plants need about 45 days from the date of sowing to the flowering time.
Beekeepers have enough tine to make the migratory plans. He has only to obtain
data from the Agricultural department first.
2. Niger (Guizotia abyssinics) : : It
is grown intensively at the Shan States though middle and lower Burma have now
started to it as a cooking oil plant. The usual flowing time is at October to
December. When grown in the rainy season the vegetative growth is more
encouraged and the plants reach over six feet high. Then the flowers secrete
less nectar and are usually damaged by the rain. Normal commercial niger plants
are about one and a halt feet in average. Sucrose concentration is around 30%
at the best times. It cannot compete with sunflower and the wild sunflower (Tithonia
tagetifolia), both having high sucrose concentrations (over 50%). If the
sunflower fields are present along side of niger the bees will surely prefer the
former. Beekeeper must keep this in mind if he wants to harvest niger or
pollinate it. Wild sunflower, being an abundant weed of Shan States is also a
strong competitor of niger .
But the local bees (Apis cerena and A.florea) prefer niger because
they have great difficulty to gather nectar from the wild sunflower.
3. Citrus spps: :
(a) Orange
(Citrus reticulatum): Taunggyi and Hsipaw areas are the present beekeeping
sites of the Southern and Northern Shan
States respectively. Flowering time is at Hsipaw from the last week of February
to the end of March. But the colonies are kept more longer because of Ingyin (Pentacme
siamensis)flow at the nearby forests. Though it is grown intensively in
the Chin and Kachin States evaluations have not been done there yet.
(b) Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis):
Sweet orange is grown along with orange grooves in Hsipaw. Flowering tine is the
same. There is an early flowering but not reliable and also with poor fruit set
during the rainy season.
(c) Lime and Pumelo (C.aurantifolia
and C.grandis)
The main flows are just coming in
for the lower Burma
at July. The lime plantations are usually situated in well forested areas. At
Hmawbi and Taikkyi townships they are situated along side the border lined of
the Forest Reserve on the Pegu Yoma. Each locality has over two thousand acres
of lime and pumelo plantations, chiefly lime.
4. Sesame (Sesame indicum) : : It
is one of the two essential cooking oil crops of Burma . Thousands of cultivars (1)
are known, with life spans ranging from 2
to 6 months. It can be grown both by irrigation or precipitation. Cultivars using
irrigation are generally short term ones. In lower Burma two kinds lf sesame are
mostly used. Nhan-gyi and Nhan-lay. Both use precipitation and flowers in the
same time (may be the effect of Photoperiodism) but the former has longer life
span. Lower Burma plantations bloom at November
and December. Generally most of the farmers use to grow it only as a side
income crop depending on the last year's sesame price. But now there are
increasing plans to make lower Burma
self-sustained in cooking oil and the will be more congested areas pf sesame
later. At present only middle Burma
has got the most congested sesame plantations. Sin-gaing and Kyaukse townships
for example grow irrigated sesame 10,000 and 26,000 acres respectively. Their
blooming tine is April to June for the whole locality. Migratory beekeeping gas
been attempted there and results are most satisfactory. Next Yamethin township
will come in from July to August. Sesame supplies both pollen and nectar but
definitely a very good pollen source. Lower Burma
bee colonies (e.g. Hmawbi apiary) develop with sesame to harvest the minor
Bizat (Eupatorium odorantum) flow.
5. Mustard and rape (Brassica spp) : : In
this year's work detail evaluation has not been able to make due to make due to
the lack of commercial plantations in Northern Shan States. Only Kachin State
6. Zee (Zizyphus jujuba) : :
Most concentrated jujube plantations are in middle Burma , Mandalay division.
Madaya, Singaing, Myit-tha and Myingyan townships have got congested jujube
plantations. Main flows start at September and
end after October. Secrets good amounts of nectar from its large nectariferous
tissue. Sucrose concentration is also over 50% and secretion is best at the
evenings. The only difficulty is inability to control the improper applications
of pesticides. Growers use to apply a lot of insecticide sprays (chiefly
Malathion) in the blooming periods to suppress the flower damaging insects and
fungi. Careful planning and coordination between beekeeper and grower is much
needed if one wants to use the jujube flows. Also growers must coordinate among
themselves to time the pruning dates, spraying times etc. to enable the beekeeper
the safety of its hives. Advice must be obtained from the agriculturist to know
the information about whether the sprayings are actually needed during the
flowering times and also if unavoidable to find the correct amount and
frequency of sprayings.
7. Wild sunflower (Tithonia tagetifolia) : :
It is the most
abundant road side weed of Shan
State
8. Cucurbitaceae spps:
Those
under the Cucurbitaceae family are Thakwa (Cucumus sativus),
Kyauk-payon (Benincasa cerifera), Shwe-pa-yon (Cucurbita maxima),
Kha-wae (Luffa acutangula), kyet-hin-ga (Memordica charantica).
Generally they are monsoon plants. Delta regions intensively produce them on
the alluvial sand banks on the middle of the river sides. These have not been
untapped by the beekeepers yet. Forest
taungyas also use them as side crops.
The
problem to pass monsoon can be partly solved by using them in Lower
Burma .
9. Litchi (Litchi chinensis) : :
The plant is most concentrated in Kachin State Kachin
State
10. Eucalyptus spps: : Most commonly used species are Eucalyptus
camaldulensis and E.teriticornis. The latter produces more
nectar. Also an old plantation of E.resinferous in Maymyo has provided a
lot of nectar income. But exact determinations with strong colonies have not
been made yet. Also the present forest policy has changed and they are being
eradicated gradually.
Future major plants
The
following are plants with very good possibilities which need further
investigation, developing, expansion etc.
1. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)
One
of the main honey plants of India .
Flowers are used in making a dying material used in coloring food. Seeds
provide an edible oil. Nectar is very attractive to honey bees and also
abundant with a high sucrose concentration (471). Now the farmers are growing
to use its leaves as salad. With planned expansion it can become a major honey
crop.
2. Kapok (Ceiba pentandra)
This
silk-cotton producing tree has not been planted commercially yet. Mature kapok
trees produce large amounts of nectar and also very attractive to bees. A
mature tree will produce 10 lbs of cottony fibers (kapok) used as the most
valuable of all stuffing materials. Kapok seeds contain 45 percent of a fatty
oil which is extracted and used for soap and food purposes. If commercial
plantations have been establishes this can also become a major honey plant.
3. Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
This
basic ingredient of French coffee also has not gone into commercial production
yet. The coffee industry of Burma
has still to import it. At present French coffee production at the Maymyo
coffee plant is being deterred by the lack of Chicory raw material. Present
rate for chicory tap roots is K.1/50 per viss. A very small plot (20x60 feet)
has produced 700 viss at 1981-82 year at B.E. apiary of Maymyo. This year plans
have been made to experiment chicory at Maymyo apiaries. This can become a both
honey and money crop at the same time saving Foreign Exchange.
4. Cotton (Gossypium spps)
The
only difficulty lies in the improper use of pesticides by the growers. Recent
experiments at cotton fields have turned out bad. Even in the Governmental
plantations pesticide applications are still uncontrollable. Without the safety
measures honey from cotton will still be in a long way.
5. Calliandra spps.
It
is an exotic introduced by the Forest Department.
The flowering is very long and nectar secretion is good. Forest
officers back from the study tours have stated that it is being used as a fuel
and honey crop in Indonesia
and Philippines .
Literature is lacked but from the observations at Hmawbi and Maymyo it has
great possibilities in both usages. With increasing knowledge and usage it has
got a good future.
6. Sweet clover (Melilotus albus)
Being
a forester I also want to emphasize the importance of our forests. As one can
see in the bee plant calendar, from the end rainy season to the end of summer
and especially in the summer times, most of the forest trees are in bloom. Such
trees as Let-pan (Salmalia malabrica), In-gyin (Pentacme siamensis),
Padauk (Pterocarpus macrocarpus). Myat-ya (Grewia microcos), Bambwe (Careya
arborea), Kalan (Melaleuca leucadendron), etc., have been found out as very
good honey plants and there are still many others unrevealed yet.
An
experimental apiary in a really forested area in the summer flowering time is
needed. Also the weeds which have come out as to be good honey plants are also
forest weeds, e.g. Taw-pin-sein (Leucas aspera), Dana-thuka (Scolparis dulcis),
Bizat (Eupatorium odorantum) etc., These forest based apiaries will not be of
much value in pollination but will be certainly good in honey production or in
producing other bee products.
Also
there is a possibility to use " forest taungyas " by these apiaries
to pass the monsoon.
Taungya
is a Burmese word meant " farm in-the-hills ". There are two kinds,
destructive and systematic. The former is the "slash and burn"
destroying of the valuable forest land, leading to soil erosion. The latter is
the kind our forest department is using in establishing forest plantations.
Farmers
are allowed to grow agricultural crops in the areas meant for reforestation
projects. They are even given consider-able amounts of money (round about
Ks.200/ per acre) for the various operation (soil preparation , planting,
weeding etc.) Their duty is only to grow with their crops the forest plants
F.D. provide them. That may be teak (Tectona grandis), pyin-ka-do
(Xylia dolarbriformes) or any other hard woods chosen by the F.D.
according to the plantation's object (local supply, fuel wood, timber, soil
conservation etc).
They
(farmers) grow their agricultural crops on earth mounds. The cost of the mounds
is 0.2 kyats (80-81 price). Average number of mounds per acre is one thousand
(6'x6'). Main crops are kayan (Solanum melongena), sesame (Sesamum
indicum), corn (Zea mays), sein-che (Coreopsis tinctorios),
Nga-yoke (Capsicum minimum). Flowering order is corn, kayan,
sein-che, sesame and Nga-yoke. A typical mound contains five Kayan plants, two
or three sein-che, one Nga-yoke and one corn. Sesame is used when Kayan is not
grown. Side crops are of the Cucurbitaceae; Shwe-payon (Cucurbita maxima),
Kyauk-payon (Benicasa cerifera), Thakwa (Cucumus sativus)
and some legumes.
The
most important fact is they are well congested and well staffed by the Forest
Department. Their area is between 100 and 500 acres in a locality. Also good forest weeds are
present in those areas. (Dana-thu-ka, Bizat, Taw-pin-sein, etc). Hmawbi apiary
gas got great help from those taungya plantations situated in the Hmawbi forest
reserve, Every interested person can see a good example of forest taungya at
Hmawbi.
Bee Management Calendars
In table III
management calendar for the Maymyo apiaries has been presented, It has been
worked ort from the 1981-82 experience. Certain things as disease outbreaks can
spoil it but have been taken into measure at June, We need mire complete data
on the manner of disease infestations of Burma . As the wore goes on further
management calendars will be prepared for the various localities. By using
Table I, II and III it is hoped that every apiary supervisors can get an idea
to make calendars of their own. It also is the main aim of this small paper.
CONCLUSION
The
work is not complete yet. It is just a beginning. More data on the just
practicising migratory stations must be compiled. Other states and Divisions
must be searched out for their melliferous flora. There are such areas as mangrove
forests of the costal regions which are by the Forest Department's statistics
the greatest honey producing areas. They also must be observed. Every apiary
supervisor should be interested in honey plant work and also know how to do it.
More sophisticated instruments for intensive researchers should be present.
Tree and plant classification methods must also be made easier (which is not a
very easy task). This paper is a very small step. A great deal of work lies
ahead and is waiting for us.
Maung
Maung Than
Plantation
Assistant
Forest
Department
24.6.82
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