Major honey flows (plants, seasons) - Ethiopia
The classification of a plant species as "important" honey bee plant often depends on different opinions of surveyed beekeepers, due to different criteria selecting and recognizing them (nectar flow, pollen amount, flowering period, quality, frequency of honey bee visits, ...).
Ethiopia: There are several important melliferous plant species within following botanical families: Acanthaceae (Asystasia gangetica, Hypoestes forskaolii, Justicia bizuneshiae), Agavaceae (Agave sisalana), Aloaceae (Aloe spp.), Anacaridaceae (Ozoroa insignis), Araliaceae (Schefflera abyssinica), Arecaceae (Borassus aethiopum, Phoenix reclinata), Asteraceae (Bidens macroptera, B. pachyloma, Carduus camaecephalus, Carthamus tinctorius, Crassocephalum macropappum, Guizotia abyssinica, G. scabra, Helichrysum citrispinum, Mikaniopsis clematoides, Vernonia amygdalina), Boraginaceae (Cordia africana), Cactaceae (Opuntia ficus-indica), Campanulaceae (Lobelia rhynchopetalum), Combretaceae (Combretum molle, Terminalia brownii), Ericaceae (Erica arborea, E. trimera), Euphorbiaceae (Croton macrostachyus, Euphorbium candelabrum), Fabaceae (Acacia spp., Acacia albia, A. brevispica, A. pentagona, A. senegal, A. seyal, A. sieberiana, A. tortilis, Albizia spp., Dichtrostachys cinera, Piliostigma thonningii, Trifolium spp.), Hypericaceae (Hypericum revolutum), Lamiaceae (Becium grandiflorum, Satureja punctata), Leguminosae (Cassia arereh), Malvaceae (Grewia mollis, G. villosa), Moraceae (Ficus sur), Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus globulus), Oleaceae (Olea Africana), Poaceae (Andropogon abyssinicus), Rhamnaceae (Berchemia discolor, Ziziphus pubescens), Rosaceae (Hagenia abyssinica), Rubiaceae (Coffea arabica), Sapotaceae (Aningeria adolfi-friederici, Mimusops laurifolia) and Ulmaceae (Celtis africana, C. toka). [1][2] [3] [4] It has to be mentioned, that there may be more plant families relevant for honey bees.
The literature is not consistent when it comes to major honey harvesting seasons. While Gemechis (2016) claims, that there are two seasons of honey harvesting: October - November and April - June (before and after rainy season) [5], Gidey et al. (2012) distinguish between honey harvesting periods in the lowlands and midlands (November - December) and in the highlands (April - June). [6] In general it can be said, that the best time for honey harvesting depends on the particular regions, due to the various climate zones in Ethiopia ("mini" harvesting seasons): e. g. in south-western Ethiopia there is a major harvesting season from April - June, and a minor one from November - January. [7]
References
- ↑ Admasu, A., Kibebew, W., Ensermu, K., & Amssalu, B. (2014). Honeybee Forages of Ethiopia. Holeta Bee Research Center. Ethiopia.
- ↑ El Mahi, A. G., & Magid, T. D. A., (2014). The Potential of Acacia seyal as a Resourceful Tree for Gum Arabic in Sudan. Gum Arabic Board (Sudan). Khartoum.
- ↑ Gupta, R. K., Reybroeck, W., van Veen, J. W., & Gupta, A. (2014). Beekeeping for Poverty Alleviation and Livelihood Security: Vol. 1: Technological Aspects of Beekeeping. Dordrecht, Springer Netherlands.
- ↑ Haftom, G., Zelealem, T., Girmay, M., & Awet, E. (2013). Seasonal honeybee forage availability, swarming, absconding and honey harvesting in Debrekidan and Begasheka Watersheds of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Livestock Research for Rural Development 25(4). HTML-Version.
- ↑ Gemechis, L. Y. (2016). Honey Production and Marketing in Ethiopia. Agriculture And Biology Journal Of North America, 7(5), 248-253.
- ↑ Gidey, Y., Bethelhem, K., Dawit, K., & Alem, M. (2012). Assessment of beekeeping practices in Asgede Tsimbla district, Northern Ethiopia: Absconding, bee forage and bee pests. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 7(1), 1-5.
- ↑ Awraris, G. S., Yemisrach, G., Dejen, A., Nuru, A., Gebeyehu, G., & Workneh, A. (2012). Honey production systems (Apis mellifera L.) in Kaffa, Sheka and Bench-Maji zones of Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, 4(19), 528-541.
