The Vitebsk region's pedigree bee nursery will double the sale of queen bees in 2011

March 18, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The only pedigree bee nursery in the Vitebsk region, "Belagropromnektar" (Dubrovensky district), is ready to increase the sales of fertile queen bees to agricultural enterprises and private apiarists by 2.5 times this year, Mikhail Sokolov, head of the regional beekeeping and fish farming service at the "Vitebskzhivprom" association, told a BELTA correspondent. In accordance with the regional program for the development of beekeeping in agricultural organizations for 2010-2011, a pedigree bee nursery was established in the region for the first time last year. Br50 million was allocated from the budget for its development in 2010, and Br70 million is planned for investment this year. In the first year of its establishment, the pedigree enterprise sold about 300 fertile queen bees, and this year alone, orders for the purchase of over 700 female bees have been received from farms. According to Mikhail Sokolov, mass artificial insemination of queen bees will begin at "Belagropromnektar" for the first time in the republic. Last year, about a hundred producers were obtained using this method. This year, the creation of the region's first industrial apiary at the KUSHP "Polota" (Polotsk district) will continue. The number of bee colonies will increase from 40 to 300. However, Mikhail Sokolov considers it most important that the productivity of each colony will triple to 30 kg at the industrial apiary, and consequently, the profitability of honey production will increase. Agricultural enterprises in the region have 85 apiaries. In 2010 (an unfavorable year for beekeeping due to abnormal heat), 33 tons of honey were obtained from them, while in 2009 - 23.4 tons. According to Mikhail Sokolov, the implementation of the regional beekeeping development program will contribute to an increase in beekeeping product output, saturation of the region's market with honey, and an increase in crop yields. The main production direction for the development of beekeeping is pollination and honey production. Bees are used for pollinating crops in closed ground, orchards, berry patches, and perennial grasses. However, the role of bees in increasing the yield of perennial grass seeds and other entomophilous crops through their pollination is underestimated. Therefore, agricultural organizations face the task of increasing the number of bee colonies by almost 1.8 thousand over two years by enlarging existing apiaries and creating new ones, and by the end of 2011, they will have 5.2 thousand bee colonies. This year, over Br400 million will be allocated from the budget for beekeeping needs. According to statistics, at the beginning of the year, there were about 37 thousand bee colonies in the region across all categories of farms, of which 12.6% belonged to institutions of the Vitebsk Production Forestry Association, farmers kept 1.8% of bee colonies, and private subsidiary farms accounted for 85.6%. -0-