Department of Animal, Range Land and Wildlife Science

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    Honeybee Production System, Colony Selection Criteria and Performance in Different Agro ecological Zones of Ahferom District, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
    (Mekelle University, 2025-02-15) Tuemay Wendm Mesfin
    The study was conducted in Ahferom district, central zone of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia in 2023/2024 to investigate honeybee production systems, honeybee colony selection criteria and colony performance in different agro-ecological zones. Six Tabias were selected purposely to represent the lowland, midland and highlands. A total of 180 sample beekeepers were selected using simple random sampling method. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaire, field observations, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA using SPSS software (version23). Two types of honeybee production systems. The overall mean number of colonies holding in traditional (4.12) and Modern (0.64) per household beekeepers. Population of worker bees, colour of worker bees, direction of comb building, aggressiveness, honey yield, age of colony, pests and predator resistance, honeybee behavior were the first ten most important parameters of colony selection criteria. Different indigenous knowledge of experiences was identified by the interviewed beekeepers. About 30 major honeybee floras were identified in the study area. Likewise, six poison plants for bee colony were identified by the beekeepers. An average honey yield of 7.17±6.08 in highland, 15.17±2.61 in midland and 16.62±3.056 kg/hive/year in lowland was harvested from traditional hive. Likewise, 14.73±9.14 (highland), 22.26±3.83 (midland) and 24.21±5.98 kg/hive/year (lowland) was obtained from modern hive. Honey production was significantly affected by hive types and agro-ecologies (p<0.05). Colony absconding was a key problem in beekeeping and more frequently and very serious absconding was observed in traditional hive with 95, 75 and 88% in highland, midland and lowland areas, respectively. About 70, 63 and 76% of the beekeepers responded the number of honeybee colony remains decreased in highland, midland and lowland areas, respectively. The major constraints affecting beekeeping development declared 14 major problems that hinder the development of beekeeping. An average of 4.26±4.53 honeybee colonies, 70.86 kg of honey lost per household and 78293 ETB total returns lost from the sale of bee colony and honey per household due to war damage