Abstract
Turkey, with its rich flora and high endemism proportion in a temperate zone, is highly favorable for beekeeping. In the studied area, two honeybees are present: Apis mellifera anatoliaca and the Yığılca local honeybee, which has been determined as local ecotype of anatoliaca in the Black Sea region. The main objective of this study was to determine the botanical sources of honey samples, which are produced by these two honeybees, from Akçakoca and Yığılca district. Chestnut and mad honey samples were obtained from local beekeepers. Pollen types in the honey samples were identified and determined the frequency classes. Castanea sativa was identified as the predominant pollen among the honey samples of Anatolian honeybee; these samples were classified as monofloral honey. Besides, Rhododendron ponticum and Lysimachia verticillaris pollens were found to be the important minor pollens in the mad honey samples of Anatolian honeybee. Mad honey samples from the Yığılca local honeybee were a multifloral honey and included Rhododendron ponticum and five other pollens as important minor pollen. In addition, physicochemical analyses were also performed. The honey samples gathered from the Yığılca district were deemed acceptable. On the other hand, the honey samples from the Akçakoca district were found acceptable except for moisture content. Also, 104 plant specimens were collected around beehives and 54 taxa were reported as melliferous plants. The Sorensen similarity coefficient, calculating among the melliferous plants of two localities (Akçakoca and Yığılca), was 51.85%. Diversity of melliferous plants was also higher in Yığılca than in Akçakoca.
Highlights
Beekeeping is a widespread profession in Turkey, where honey is an important food product for the local people of the country in question
The Düzce province is located in the Western Black Sea region of the country
Field studies that we conducted in proximity to the beehives in question lead to the collection of 104 plant specimens. 54 taxa belonging to 23 families were reported as melliferous plants
Summary
Beekeeping is a widespread profession in Turkey, where honey is an important food product for the local people of the country in question. According to FAO (2016) data on the number of beehives globally, Turkey ranks third in the world, with the third highest number of beehives across all countries surveyed. As of 2019, the number of beehives in Turkey has reached 8.1 million, and the nation’s honey production measures about 110 thousand tons (TUIK, 2019). The botanical source of pollen harvested by honey bees possesses an important role in the quality of honey produced. Pollen analysis of honey possesses prominent importance due to its ability to reveal the plant species foraged by honey bees for the honey source. Recently there exist numerous studies investigating the melissopalynology of Turkish honeys (Altay et al, 2018; Gencay Celemli et al, 2018; Gül and Pehlivan, 2018; Ozkok et al, 2018; Özenirler et al, 2018; Özler, 2018; Bozbeyoglu et al, 2019; Cenet, 2019; Ecem Bayram et al, 2019; Gürbüz et al, 2019a; b; Kızılpınar Temizer et al, 2019; Çakır et al, 2020; Gencay Celemli, 2020)
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