PAU’s Apiculture Centre awarded best research centre award

Ludhiana, October 14, 2022: The Apiculture Centre of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has been conferred with the “Best Research Centre Award” of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Honey Bees and Pollinators (HB&P) among the 26 centers under the AICRP. The award has been bestowed upon PAU by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi in recognition of its outstanding research work in apiculture and based on the research work and technologies presented during the Annual Group Meeting of the ICAR-AICRP, held at SKUAST, Jammu on September 8 and 9, 2022.

Congratulating the team of PAU apiculturists, Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, said that history has been scripted by the University’s Apiculture Unit, which has contributed tremendously towards sustaining the livelihood of small and marginal farmers as well as young entrepreneurs by promoting beekeeping as a lucrative subsidiary occupation. Winning Best Centre Award twice in the last three workshops of AICRP (HB&P) reflects recognition of the PAU for its significant contributions to apicultural research, he stated.

Dr AS Dhatt, Director of Research and Dr DK Sharma, Head, Department of Entomology, also hailed the commendable efforts, made by the PAU apiculturists, namely Dr Pardeep Kumar Chhuneja, Incharge, Apiculture Unit;

Dr Jaspal Singh, Principal Entomologist and Principal Investigator (PI) of the project; Dr Amit Choudhary, Co-PI of the project and Dr Bharathi Mohindru, the scientist associated with the project.

Dr Sharma disclosed that Punjab is a pioneer in apiculture, leading the state to produce whooping 18,500 MT honey during 2021-22.

Tracing the history, Dr Chhuneja disclosed that the apiculture journey took route with the introduction of Italian honey bee, Apis Mellifera during 1962-64, followed by its multiplication and release in 1976. In recognition of its stellar role in apiculture, PAU received “Team of Excellence Award in Apiculture” in 1998 and “Integrated Beekeeping Development Centre/Centre of Excellence Award” from the National Bee Board in 2017. The Department of Posts, India released a special postal cover in 2017 depicting the outstanding achievement of the PAU at the national level, he added.