A record amount of honey has been collected from litchi blossoms in Ishwardi, Pabna, this season. About 24 tonnes of honey was collected from the upazila, the highest ever.

The Ishwardi upazila agriculture office said honey was collected this season from the flowers of 1,575 hectares of litchi orchards, using 12,310 bee boxes. These boxes yielded 23,460 kg, or 23.46 tonnes, of honey, with a current market value of Tk 70 lakh 38 thousand.

Beekeeper Ansar Ali of Jagannathpur village said: "Every year when the litchi season comes, I come to Ishwardi to collect honey, and I came this time too. There was more litchi blossom than in other years and more honey was collected. I have collected about 2 tonnes."

Amjad Ali came with 300 boxes to collect litchi blossom honey in the Joynagar Pramanik Para area of the upazila. "I came to Ishwardi for the honey season. Honey can be collected from each box every 6-7 days. I have collected about 3 tonnes, with an average market value of about Tk 10 lakh," he said.

Ishwardi upazila agriculture officer Abdul Momin, an agriculturist, said: "This year mango and litchi blossom came in record amounts in Ishwardi, so more flowers made it possible to collect more honey. Ishwardi has 10-12 local beekeepers. So far 23,460 kg, or 23.46 tonnes, of honey has been collected, with a current market value of Tk 70 lakh 38 thousand."

He said: "When bees visit litchi flowers and blossom, pollination is better and diseases are much reduced. In that case many orchards do not need pesticide after the fruit sets. This greatly raises the chance of a bumper litchi crop, and honey production is also good."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.