Preparation of a Floral Calendar of Honey Plants of Kangra and Adjoining Areas of Himachal Pradesh

Beekeeping industry, one of the important agricultural and forest based rural industries in India, is mainly involved in production of commercial quantities of honey, using essentially colonies of the Indian hive bee, Apis cerana. Beekeeping is entirely dependent on the types of flowering plants available in any given area. It is not only the total abundance, that is only important, but also the duration of time for which bee forage is available. Nectar and pollen are the raw materials of beekeeping industry. Pollen analysis of honey shows the possibility of determining the botanical, geographical and ecological origin of honey from the pollen grains they contain. Therefore, microscopic analysis of some honeys conducted from Kangra and adjoining areas of Himachal Pradesh so as to identify important pollen and nectar sources of this region. Centaurea cynus, Helianthus annus, Taraxacum officinale, Bombax ceiba, Brassica sp. , Eruca sativa, Raphanus sativus, Rhododendron arboreum, Carica papaya, Cucurbita spp. , Terminalia spp. , Kalanchoe integra, Cucumis spp. , Delbergia sissoo, Trifolium spp. , Acacia catechu, Aesculus indica, Woodfordia fruticosa, Moringa oleifera, Callistemon citrinus, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Psidium gaujava, Syzygium cumini, Sesamum indicum, Grevillea robusta, Eriobotrya japonica, Prunus amygdalus, prunus armeniaca, Pyrus persica, Citrus spp. , Litchi chinensis, Sapindus mukorosii, Camellia sinensis and Grewia optiva were major sources of pollen and nectar to honeybee in Kangra and its adjoining areas, whereas, Adhatoda vasica, Justicia pubigera, Acer spp. , Carissa caranda, Asclepias curassavica, Cardus onopardios, Dahlia pinnata, Zinnia elegans, Impatiens glandulifera, Berberis spp. , Brassica spp. , Cardamine spp. , Opuntia spp. , Cannabis sativa, Benincasa spp. , Emblica officinale, Acacia arabica, Cassia fistula, Erythrina suberosa, Delonix regia, Indigofera sp. , Salvia spp. , Lagerstroemia indica, Abelomoschus esculentus, Althaea rosea, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Malvaviscus arboreus, Epilobium spp. , Clematis spp. , Prinsepia utilis, Pyrus pashia, Rubus spp. , Murraya koenigii, Aegle marmelos, Antirrhinum majus and Origanum vulgare were medium nectar and pollen resources. Whereas, Minor nectar and pollen sources were allium sativum, Allium cepa, Mangifera indicia, Salvia sp. , Foeniculum vulgare, Heracleum sp. , Ageratum conyzoides, Calendula officinalis, Eupatorium sp. , Jacaranda mimosifolia, Cynoglossum sp. , Albizzia julibrissin, Albizzia lebbek, Albizzia stipulata, Glycine max, Rumex hestatus etc. and other members belonged to families Acantheceae, Agavaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Anacardiaceae, Apiaceae, Apocynaceae, Arecaceae, Asteraceae, Bignoniaceae, Boraginaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, Geraniaceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Linaceae, Malvaceae, Meliaceae, Moraceae, Musaceae, Papaveraceae, Plantaginaceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, Portulacaceae, Punicaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, Solanaceae, Verbenaceae, Violaceae and Vitaceae.