Pollen analysis of summer honeys from Prayagraj District, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Eighteen Apis dorsata Fabricius summer honey samples collected from Prayagraj District (Uttar Pradesh) during the summer season were analysed for pollen content. A total of 43 pollen types belonging to 26 plant families were found in these samples. Five of the 18 honey samples were found to be unifloral; 13 were multifloral. In terms of frequency, pollen of Syzygium cumini, Azadirachta indica and Coriandrum sativum were recorded as predominant pollen types, 11 pollen types as secondary pollen types, 23 as important minor pollen types, and 38 as minor pollen types. The Asteraceae family showed the highest frequency of occurrence. Four pollen types were recorded in more than 50% of the honey samples: Ageratum conyzoides, Bombax ceiba, Azadirachta indica and Syzygium cumini. Absolute pollen type counts per 10 g of honey samples ranged from group II to group V. The aim of determining and evaluating the pollen data was to infer the flora visited by the honeybees during the summer season in Prayagraj District. The findings were correlated with the pattern of vegetation in the vicinity of the bee hive sites during honey production. The study indicates that Prayagraj District has good potential for beekeeping ventures, due to the high diversity of nectar- and pollen-producing taxa during the summer season.

Diversity matters: Diet of Apis cerana in southeast India includes one consistently occurring and several seasonally available floral sources

“…Among the herbaceous taxa are several weeds edible to people too (Sengupta 2015) such as Achyranthes aspera, Asystasia gangetica, Boerhavia diffusa, Cardiospermum halicacabum, Mimosa pudica and Talinum ; other herbs include Evolvulus sp., Sida, Tribulus, Waltheria and corresponding to the Asteraceae echinate pollen taxon, Tridax procumbens and Wedelia trilobata . Among these M. pudica in Thailand (Suwannapong et al 2013) and Asteraceae in Uttar Pradesh (Shukla and Rao 2021) have been reported as important pollen forage for Apini bees. Anemophilous taxa such as Cyperaceae and Poaceae, common in our and other agricultural mosaic landscapes, were also collected by A. cerana as reported elsewhere (Reddi and Reddi 1986; Garg and Nair 1993; Barth and Da Luz 1998; Baum et al 2004; Sahney et al 2018).…”

Pollen morphology and its implication in the taxonomy of some selected taxa of the bi and tri‐ovulate Euphorbiaceae of the Hainan Island by using multiple microscopic techniques

“…The family have a great diversity in terms of growth form ranging from tall tropical rainforest trees to medium‐sized shrubs, lianas, succulents, geophytes, and floating aquatic (Yang et al, 2020). The Euphorbiaceae have a significant economic potential, that is, Hevea , Ricinus , Manihot , Aleurites and also known for its ornamental taxa, that is, Euphorbia , Croton , and Acalypha , and so forth (Perveen & Qaiser, 2005), and relevance in melissopalynology as well (Shukla & Rao, 2021), that have a high‐economic potential at the local, regional and global level.…”

Palyno–morphological and isotopic characterization of monofloral and multifloral honeys from Lucknow, India

“…and Coriandrum sativum were very frequent pollen types as they were recovered in > 50% of the honey samples of Allahabad (Sahney et al, 2018). Shukla and Rao (2021) studied 18 honey samples from Prayagraj (Allahabad) District of U.P., and suggested that five of the 18 honey samples were unifloral and 13 were multifloral. Syzygium cuminii, Azadirachta indica and Coriandrum sativum were the predominant pollen types.…”