Assessment of various pollen substitutes for sustaining brood development in Apis cerana himalaya fabricius during the dearth period in Manipur conditions

Five pollen substitutes were evaluated during 2022 for their effect on brood development of Apis cerana himalaya at Central Agricultural University, Imphal, Manipur, India. Six flours viz., green gram flour, soybean flour, wheat flour, rice bean flour, black gram flour and maize flour were chosen as main substrates of pollen substitutes. Five different treatments were prepared by mixing the flours with yeast and either honey solution or sugar solution. These diets were fed to A. cerana himalaya colonies in the form of patties on top bars during dearth period (June to August). Brood area development was observed the most in the colonies given T₃ (Rice bean flour (30%) + Yeast (30%) + Honey (40%)) with 777.66 cm² of brood area. The colonies given with T₅ (Maize flour (50%) + Yeast (20%) +Sugar (30%)) showed 649.13 cm² brood area followed by T₄ (Black gram flour (50%) + Yeast (20%) +Honey (30%)) with 553.60 cm², T₂ (Soybean flour (30%) + Wheat flour (30%) + Yeast (10%) + Sugar (30%)) showed 427.40 cm² and T₁ (Green gram flour (50%) + Yeast (20%) + Honey (30%)) showed 384.13 cm² of brood area. T₆ was control i.e., the colonies were only given with sugar solution which showed the least brood area as 333.93 cm². All the diet was found to be better as compared to control.