INDISCRIMINATE USE OF PESTICIDES CAUSED IN THE DECLINE OF HONEYBEES

      Indiscriminate use of pesticides has resulted in the decline of honeybee population in Idukki and Kasaragod districts.Prof. S Devanesan, Principal scientist, College of Agriculture,Vellayani said" the scientists of AICRP who had visited Idukki to study the diversity of honeybees had found that Endosulfan had been used there under different trade name. The  day after the application of the pesticide, bees had showed symptoms of poisoning and died." The bees visited the flowers and returned near to the beehive but wee unable to direct their flight to the hive entrance. the poisoned bees showed decreased aggressiveness and the paralysed bees crawled in reduced food storage and brood rearing and decline in population in the colony.
   The observations in the plantations had revealed a drastic reduction in the fruit set of cardamon capsules inthe areas where the pesticide use was very high.

    Honeybees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants. They are the major pollinators in cardamom, coffee ,coconut, cashew, many vegetables. A study by Thanal, a public interest research showed that honeybees had been affected and almost wiped out in the Endosulfan sprayed areas of Kasaragod district.It affected the tribal community. The study should that the annual production of honey by beekeepers had been 12,015 kg before aerial spraying of Endosulfan started. that had ,come down to 68.5 kg in mid 80's when the spraying had been going on. After the ban on aerial spraying, the production rose marginally to 133 kg.
  In the case of 14 members of honey collecting Koraga tribe surveyed the availability of forest honey had come down from 3,375 kg annually before Endosulfan spraying to 938 kg during
Endosulfan spray.

Prof.John Kuraka