The introduced European honeybee Apis mellifera has performed well in appropriate areas of Indonesia. However, A. mellifera honey production is substantially lower than in temperate climates, where most apicultural research has been focused. Consequently, the Indonesian Government has encouraged the development of honeybee management to increase production of honey and other hive products (wax, pollen and royal jelly) and to improve pollination and fruit set in crops such as rambutan, lychee, longan and carambola. In economic terms, the latter factor is far more important than production of hive products, even though honey sales from even a few hives can be an important source of income to the individual smallholder. Another important factor is poor seed yields in introduced Australian eucalypts. If this is the result of limited insect pollination, increasing honeybee activity may well result in higher levels of pollination and greater outcrossing on seed nurseries.
To date, there has been little investigation of how honeybee management developed for temperate climates can be adapted to tropical environments. There are a number of factors to considerdifferent climates, flora and fauna, to increase production of hive products and improve pollination of economic plant species. At least part of the poor performance of A. mellifera in the tropics is the result of chalkbrood disease and mite parasites.
Project scientists from Indonesia and Australian will seek to improve bee products and eucalypt seed production in tropical Australia and Indonesia by investigating relationships between the following groups of factors:
hive weight, brood area, population, production;
hive equipment, macro- and micro-climate, honey moisture, honey fermentation;
bee nutrition, pollen quality, pollen quantity;
honey yields, nectiferous plants;
bee strains, production, mite and chalkbrood resistance;
pollination, pollen transfer, crossing, seed orchard design;
eucalypt attraction, clone variation.
In the first year, the project will be conducted in tropical Australia and, for eucalypt work, in Tasmania. This will generate useful data for refinement of methodologies in Southeast Asia, especially 'base-line' data. Research in the following 2 years will be conducted in three separate locations in Indonesiayear 2 in Central Java, and year 3 in Kuok, Sumatera and East Java.
Research in Australia will be carried out by scientists from the University of Queensland, Gatton College (colony production), the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury (bee evaluation and breeding), and the CSIRO Division of Forestry (pollination). Indonesian collaborators will visit Australian research sites and CSIRO for training in the first year. In the last 2 years, most of the planned monitoring work will be conducted by Indonesian scientists in their own country. Scientists from UQG have already established a sound reputation in assisting many developing countries by conducting special courses in apiculture.
Benefits stemming from the project will allow further planned development of apiculture in both Indonesia and tropical Australia based on improved genetic stock and better management. Because beekeeping can be a way of earning income without owning land, in Indonesia the project should benefit the poorest inhabitants while increasing national food production and export income. In addition, data generated will assist planning of seed production strategies in eucalypts and indicate the potential of these trees in Southeast Asia for apiculture. Results from the project will have wide applicability to other Southeast Asian countries and countries of the South Pacific, and the methodologies employed will be applicable for research on other species of honeybee.
Australia will also benefit from obtaining detailed information on the reaction of Australian bee strains to diseases which do not occur in Australia, e.g. chalkbrood caused by Ascosphera apis, and infestations of the parasitic mites Varroa jacobsoni and Tropilaelaps clareae. All of these organisms are present in adjacent Asian countries, and chalkbrood is present in New Zealand. The accidental introduction of any one of them into Australia could cause considerable economic loss to the Australian bee industry.
Project Leader/Commissioned Organisation:
Dr Graham Kleinschmidt, University of Queensland, Gatton College, Lawes, Qld 4343, tel: (075) 62 0294; fax: (075) 62 3081.
Collaborating Institutions in Australia:
University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury; CSIRO Division of Forestry; NSW Agriculture and Fisheries.
Collaborating Institutions Overseas:
Forest Enterprises (Direksi Perum Perhutani) and Department of Forests, Ministry of Forestry, Indonesia.
Project Leaders:
Indonesia: Dr Ombo Satyapradja, National Beekeeping Centre of Parungpanjang, Kantor Pusat Perlebahan, Bogor; Ir Soegeng Sukarto, Director of Productions, Direksi Perum Perhutani, Manggala Wanabhakti Building, Jakarta.
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