Melissopalynological analysis of Apis honey from northern districts of West Bengal

Abstract

The assessment of botanical origin of honey in northern districts of West Bengal, viz. Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts through melissopalynological analysis is the focus of this study. Ten different honey samples were analysed, from which 78 different pollen taxa representing 34 different plant families have been detected. Asteraceae, Brassicaceae and Fabaceae were the most frequently encountered families. Asteraceae had highest number of representative pollen types (14 types) followed by Fabaceae (11 types). Seven honey samples were recorded as unifloral honey and three were multifloral honey. Litchi chinensis was found as a predominant pollen in two samples, whereas Brassica sp., Canna indica, Leucas aspera, Mimosa pudica and Rosa sp. were the other predominant pollen taxa. In multifloral honey samples Brassica sp. was found to have a higher frequency. Honey samples collected from regions with close proximity during the same season showed a higher similarity index. All the honey samples were poor in honey dew elements (HDEs) having HDE/P ratio (P = total number of pollen grains) of 0.000 to 0.056. The absolute pollen count (APC) varied from 7500 to 696 000 pollen/10 g honey. High variation in pollen spectra with less preference to a particular bee forage in summer honey samples may indicate the onset of dearth period.