A NEW BUZZ

Like many countries, India is in the middle of a pollinator crisis. In several states, farmers now rent honeybees to secure a decent harvest. In areas where agriculture is nearly impossible due to shortage of natural pollinators, people are manually carrying out nature's most critical operation. This artificial substitution of pollinators raises new concerns. A report by

- RAJU SAJWAN, M RAGHURAM , KA SHAJI , HIMANSHU NITNAWARE and VIVEK MISHRA

A BONE-CHILLING COLD has settled over the Himalayan district of Mandi, even as March is drawing to a close. But it does little to deter Gopal Singh, now nearing 70, from venturing outside. Accompanied by his grandson, Singh drives towards the biggest market in Janjehli valley in the stillness of the wee hours. Waiting for him at the bazaar is Bunty Chauhan with almost 50 boxes, each measuring half a metre on each side. Singh quickly inspects the boxes and asks Chauhan to place two of them in his car's boot space. “The supply is limited and I am running out of time,” Singh tells Down To Earth (DTE), as he drives off to his apple orchard, located some five kilometres away in his village Shihal. “These boxes contain 10,000 to 20,000 honeybees, which are in demand by apple growers in Janjehli and other parts of Himachal Pradesh,” says Chauhan, as he hands over the remaining boxes to those queued up at his shop that originally is a hardware store.

Perched at an altitude of 2,150 metres, Janjehli valley is known for its tranquil landscape and sprawling apple orchards. By the end of March, flower buds in most orchards in the valley have attained a delicate pink hue and are nearing blooming stage. “The mature ones will bloom within a week and will need to be pollinated over the next three to five days before the petals start dropping,” says Singh, who has placed the hive boxes at strategic locations in his orchard. Just till four to five years ago, he recalls, wild bees and butterflies used to buzz around the orchards in the valley. But then suddenly their numbers declined. Now, it is difficult to spot even a single pollinating insect around the trees. “We will lose an entire year's harvest if we fail to ensure pollination during this crucial flowering stage,” says Singh.