Karnataka: Virus cases decline, beekeeping a big hit

Madikeri: With cases of Thai Sac Brood Virus (TSBV) disease on the decline in recent years, the College of Forestry, Ponnampet is all set to give an impetus to bee-keeping particularly in Madikeri which produces one of the finest honeys in the State.

Honey produced in Madikeri (Coorg) was most sought after in the market but about two decades back, bee-keepers started to quit the job owing to Thai Sac Brood Virus (TSBV) disease which devastated the bee population and hit honey production.

Talking about the efforts being made to enhance honey production in Madikeri, Assistant Professor of Forest Biology, Dr Kencha Raddi told Deccan Chronicle on Friday that honey produced in Madikeri is one of the best in the market since bees feed on multi-floral varieties which give the honey higher medicinal and nutritional value.

Prior to TSBV occurrence in Madikeri, bee-keeping was practised in almost every household both for domestic consumption and commercial use. Mr Raddi observes that “TSBV was a natural weeding out process. Now, after a gap of decades, bee-keeping has started to pick-up in Madikeri again,” he said.

“We are beginning to see a demand from bee-keepers for colonies to re-start honey production and from last year we started to collect colonies from Mandya, Shivamogga, Davanagere and others parts to take up multiplication of the colonies so that these colonies could be distributed among bee-keepers,” said Mr Raddi exuding confidence that honey production would go up in the years to come.

A commercial bee-keeper Medappa Gowda of Madikeri who has been in the business for about a decade, says bee-keeping in Madikeri suffered owing to lack of interest among youth who are inclined towards lucrative jobs.

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