Belarusian experience of honey collection from rapeseed

I first encountered rapeseed honey harvest in 2007. That season brought a number of surprises for which I was not ready. In 2008, he took into account the mistakes made, changed the technology for caring for bees, and they overwintered without loss.

Rapeseed is an annual plant of the cabbage family. Its honey productivity is 80-120 kg/ha. For pollination of 1 hectare of crops, one family of bees is needed. In Belarus, winter rapeseed is mainly cultivated, the crops of which increase annually. its bloom

in the Minsk region begins on May 16-18 and lasts about 10 days. True, the weather often intervenes during these periods. So, in 2008, from May 18 to May 26, the daytime temperature was 10-12°C, it rained, and the culture practically did not produce nectar, the control hive did not show weight gain. From May 26, the weather improved, and until June 8, daily gains were at the level of 3-4 kg.

 

 

Rapeseed honey is light, fragrant, sweet, it is very useful for human health, but unsuitable for wintering bees, as it crystallizes unusually quickly in combs and requires immediate pumping out 7-8 days after the cessation of honey collection. These are the theoretical recommendations. Some experienced beekeepers recommend pumping out honey as early as possible. Its specific properties required a change in the technology of caring for bees, rescheduling the timing of the hatching of queens and the organization of layering.

Rapeseed blooms for a longer time than it produces nectar, so it is advisable to have a control hive in the apiary so that all work is done in a timely manner. To do this, it is quite enough to purchase inexpensive household floor scales VBN-120 (see the magazines: "Host" No. 5, 2005; "Beekeeping" No. 9, 2005). Rape blooms unusually early, when the period of change of old individuals to young ones has not yet ended in families. In order to effectively use the honey collection from it, it is necessary to send strong families with young queens into the winter. In the spring, you need to unite the weak ones, expand the nests in time, monitor the availability of food, and in case of prolonged inclement weather, give incentive feeding.

 

Since rapeseed is a winter crop, information about its crops can be obtained in advance from the owners of the surrounding farmland in the fall. They are interested in cooperation with beekeepers, since its pollination by bees increases crop yield by 30-50%. Such contacts with the owners of the land will make it possible to avoid the loss of families during the chemical treatments of rapeseed fields, which cannot be dispensed with.

After the exposure of families to the point, it is necessary to expand the nests to the volume of one building, follow their development and long-term weather forecast, by the end of April put a second building with honeycomb frames and two frames with honeycomb on top. After a week, inspect the upper body, by the presence of eggs and open brood, determine the fact that the uterus has moved upwards and rearrange the body down, placing a dividing grid on it. By the beginning of the honey harvest from rapeseed, the brood will come out, as a result, a place will be freed up for placing nectar.

In sixteen-frame hives, it is also possible to separate half of the nest with brood at the exit with a dividing grid, and leave the uterus on the honeycomb frames and foundation near the notch. With the beginning of the honey collection, the bees intensively build honeycombs, and in the absence of foundation, they build up all the free space. Only strong, light brown combs should be placed in the honey compartment, as rapeseed honey is thick and difficult to pump out. The weather can make adjustments to this process, so it is necessary to monitor its condition and honey flow in the control hive. If there is a need to expand the nests, an extension or a third body with honeycomb frames must be installed.

 

A week after the termination of the honey collection, it is necessary to pump out all the honey from the upper cases and put the freed frames without drying on the brood nest, removing the dividing grid. The uterus will go to work in the vacant body, and after 4-5 days it must be lowered down, fencing off with a dividing grid. In the freed frames, the bees will fill their upper part with nectar, therefore, after the release of the brood, it is necessary to pump out the honey.

Another option is possible. Immediately after the end of the rapeseed honey collection, the Demari method should be applied: remove all the bodies, find the uterus and place one or two frames of open brood, two frames of foundation and combs in the lower case. Put a dividing grid on top, put the second body with brood (the former first body) and the third one with honey. In this case, after a week, we take out the honey frames from the upper body, and after the brood comes out, from the second one. This option is more preferable, since approximately from mid-June, honey collection from white clover begins, and fresh nectar will interfere with the pumping of rapeseed honey. This method will also be the best if the family has a uterus older than one year of age. A sharp break in the honey flow in colonies with an old queen can provoke swarming.

We also pump out the rapeseed honey in the beds, transfer the uterus to the freed combs, limiting it from the former brood part with a dividing grid. After the release of young bees, we remove the remaining honey, remove lattice and collect the nest, depending on the subsequent honey flow.

Taking into account the honey collection from rapeseed, the timing of the withdrawal of queens will change. F. Ruttner wrote: “The period of good nectar collection is a bad time for breeding queens. On the contrary, supporters of nectar flow are considered very auspicious.” Therefore, the optimal time for organizing layering on infertile queens will be a bridging window from the moment the honey harvest from rapeseed is stopped until white clover blooms. This technique will contribute to the suppression of the swarm state. This means that 14-16 days before this, it is necessary to start hatching queens (May 10-11). In this case, the upbringing of uterine larvae will take place in favorable conditions for supporting honey collection. The old uterus in the lower case will have enough space for laying eggs before the flight and maturation of the young. The latter will need to be planted with layers in families, removing old queens. In this case, families successfully work during the main honey flow, they will not swarm. They can be left undisturbed until the honey is pumped out at the end of the season.

Unfortunately, we live carefree until that time, "until the thunder strikes," and frames filled with crystallized honey may appear. I suggest the following. It is necessary to construct a box for 10-15 frames from fiberboard, cover it inside with waterproof varnish and dry well (Fig.). We nail the planks onto the inner walls so that the frames are fixed at the bottom and do not float up after filling them with water. Above them, in the corner of the box, we put a centrifugal pump, the blades of which should be located above the upper bars of the frames. Fill with water so that the pump rotor is immersed in it. We turn on the pump for 3-5 minutes with a half-hour or hourly interval so that the remains of rapeseed honey are washed out with a stream of water in the streets between the combs. The frames are released from it within 6-10 hours, after which they must be removed, and the next portion should be placed in the box. Rinse the vacant frames with clean water and put to dry. Sweet honey water makes a great mead wort! Don't waste good!

If there is no centrifugal pump, you will have to lose this valuable product by washing the frames with a stream of water from the tap. The pump is needed because its working body, the rotor, is not clogged with pieces of bee bread and zabrus.

So, we have to admit that this new rapeseed culture for us has made significant adjustments to the technology of the beekeeper's work. Instead of one extraction of honey at the end of the season, it is now necessary to carry out this operation three times and adjust all work with an eye to the weather, local conditions and the flowering of other honey plants. The specified terms and honey collection conditions are typical for the Minsk region, in other areas it is necessary to adjust the progress of work. But these extra efforts pay off well with the unusual white, small cage "May" honey, which people are still wary of. However, many have already tasted this delicacy and buy only it.