How are bee colonies obtained for pollination?
Crop growers can obtain bee colonies for pollination of their crops from either local beekeepers or the governmental Beekeeping Departments. In some states of India and China, the government has created the institutional infrastructure to rear and manage large numbers of bee colonies and rent these to farmers. For example, in Himachal Pradesh in India, the Department of Horticulture rents bee colonies to farmers for apple pollination. In China, the government promotes beekeeping for crop pollination by encouraging farmers to rent bee colonies for the pollination of their crops and by educating them to protect bees from pesticide poisoning. It is important to rent only strong and healthy bee colonies, because weak and diseased colonies are of little value for crop pollination, especially of crops that bloom during early spring when cold weather is often encountered in mountain areas. Figure 4.13: Overheating of bee colonies (while transporting in warmer areas) can be prevented by unload
