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To flourish beekeeping as a side business, a five days vocational training was conducted at village Siswan by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali) under the supervision of Associate Director, Dr. Parminder Singh in collaboration with Department of Forest & Wildlife Preservation, Punjab. Twenty participants (18 male, 2 female) participated during this training course. Training Incharge, Dr. Harmeet Kaur guided the participants regarding importance of beekeeping, types of honeybee, life cycle of honeybee, foraging behavior of honeybees, protection of honeybees from insects, diseases and pesticides. During this programme, Dr. Parminder Singh provided important tips to start beekeeping and marketing of honey and other hive products. He quoted that honeybee plays important role in pollination which improves crop yield. An exposure visit was also conducted at PAU, Ludhiana under this training course where Dr. Yuvraj Singh Pandha from department of Entomology guided the participants regarding seasonal management of bee boxes in different seasons of Punjab. He also showed bee colonies to the participants to provide practical knowledge. During this exposure visit, The Director of Extension Education, Dr. Parkash Singh Brar also interacted with the participants and motivated them to start this allied occupation.
Dr. Vikas Phulia, Asst. Prof. (Fisheries) from KVK, S.A.S. Nagar suggested the participants to start beekeeping along with fish pond which fulfills the requirement of water for bees. Dr. Munish Sharma, Asst. Prof. (Horticulture) explained bee flora under Punjab conditions and pollination services provided by honeybees to mankind. Dr. Parul Gupta, Asst. Prof. (Home Science) elaborated health benefits and value added products of honey. Dr. Kamalpreet Kaur, HDO S.A.S. Nagar shared information regarding different schemes of department for beekeepers. The trainees thanked KVK, S.A.S. Nagar staff to conduct this training course and showed interest in future trainings.
