Earthworm and Honey Bee Both Increase Food Production for Nature

Earthworm is a creature of nature which live underground and do a most significant role of increasing the fertilizing capacity of a land silently.

Other then Earthworm, another creature which is 'Honey Bee', a flying insects play more vital role for increase Production of fruits and corps. 


This Article on Honey Bee Can give you a better idea how it increase production of our foods and maintain chain of food intact. 


I will try to write more on Honey Bee Farming in Future, once I complete my own honey bee farming project.


Any idea / suggestion on Honeybee keeping project is highly welcome.  

Honey Bees Keeping Vital Role on Our Food Chain And Supply Honey

Apiculture  (moumachhi palon) care and manipulation of colonies of honeybees (Apis species) so as to enable them to produce and store a quantity of honeyexceeding their own requirements. This lead to commercial production of honey and other by-products. Foraging of bee for nectar and pollen leads to cross-pollination of crop plants. There is no statistics of annual honey production recorded by the beekeepers of Bangladesh. However, the honeybee's chief value lies in its ability to pollinate over 60 agricultural crops and thus increase the production of fruits and seeds.

In Bangladesh the most important honeybee species from the commercial standpoint is Apis cerana indica. In addition, one wild species, Apis dorsata makes hive in forests, on large trees around dwelling houses, and even attached to the cornice. Many professional honey collectors of Bangladesh hunt Apis dorsata colonies as a source of honey. These professional honey collectors live mostly in areas close to forests, particularly the sundarbans, madhupur, and other forest enriched areas of Bangladesh.

However, most of the honey consumed now is produced according to refined management methods. Apiculture most likely began with the realization that it was better to safeguard future colonies rather than to destroy them in the process of gathering honey. To accomplish this various substitutes for natural nesting sites for domestic species, A. c. indica were brought into use in Bangladesh also. This substitute nesting sites or man-made hives facilitate the removal of honey without injuring the bees. It is a box consisted of several frames having precise space of 1.0 cm that honeybees can pass through without instinctively connecting two adjacent surfaces with a bridge of wax. The concept of the "bee space" opened the way for development of this removable frame hive, which permit both the close examination of the bees and the nondestructive removal of honey. Numerous hive designs are available in Bangladesh, but a combination of trial, error, and research eventually led to the type of the hive in widespread use today made of wooden boxes with removable frames of comb. Beekeepers have standardized equipment so that parts will be interchangeable within an apiary.

Process of honey collection When combs are filled with honey and capped over, those are taken from the hive and the bees are removed from combs. The thin film of wax covering the cells of the comb is then shaved off with a sharp knife. After the combs are uncapped, they are put in the honey extractor and revolved at a high speed.
	An artificial beehive

The honey is poured out of the comb by centrifugal force exerted against the sides of the extractor. Then the combs are reversed, and the other surface are emptied. Finally, the combs are returned to the hive to be filled again by the bees.

Commercial practice Commercial bee-keeping in Bangladesh is still in its infancy. Some successful beekeepers move to those areas where nectar-producing plants abound. The best known honey in Bangladesh is Mustard honey. Mustard is grown in many districts of Bangladesh as an oilseed crop. Drum Stick, Zizyphus jujuba,mango, and various other vegetables, fruits, forest and crop plants are also good nectar-producing sources. Just as each flower is different in its colour, shape, odour and design, so each flower produces a unique nectar.

Department of Agricultural Extension periodically organizes training programmes on bee-keeping at the upazila level. In such programmes they not only impart training on bee management but also provide beehives to the trainees for bee-keeping to ensure profitable honey production. Bangladesh Small Industries Corporation, andbangladesh institute of apiculture (BIA) also organize training for commercial and amateur bee-keepers with their experienced trainers. They also organize practical mobile bee-keeping during the winter season in major mustard growing areas of Bangladesh for successful pollination and honey production.

Some management aspects For successful bee-keeping some management aspects need to be taken into consideration. Often swarming results in population losses in hives which hampers the ability to produce honey. Crowded and overheated hives are conducive to swarming, and this tendency may be overcome by providing adequate ventilation and additional room in the hive. Requeening with young queens early in the season also prevent swarming. When bees are short of honey, sugar syrup (two part sugar and one part water) may be substituted. This is fed in an inverted can with a few small holes punched in the lid. American and European foul brood diseases are serious in Bangladesh.

There is no cure for American foul brood but may be prevented by burning the infected combs and bees. European foul brood may be prevented by requeening so that the vigor of the colony will be increased rapidly. A number of insects including ants and wax moth, birds, mice, and some other mammals often destroy combs. To prevent moth larvae, combs may be fumigated with paradichlorobenzene or ethylene dibromide in tight rooms. The usual method of keeping the ant out is to put the hive on a stand and to rest the legs of the hive in vessels containing oil or creosote.

Content Source: Banglapedia.org

Benefits of Earthworm Both for Farmer Gardner & Nature

Earthworm is a creature of nature which giving is a lot of benefits including our everyday's food which came from cultivation. It helps to fertilize land to grow corp and visitable including all other plant.

In one word nobody can describe the benefits of earthworm in soil. Earthworm activities can be summarize by term of Biological, Chemical and physical structure of soil to grow plant. Some body believe that earthworm is harmful for plant though garden and it destroy plant root by eating it up. This is totally wrong. Earthworm don't eat or destroy any part of plant at all!

In a Biological term, earthworms play a major role in converting large pieces of organic matter (e.g. dead leaves) into rich humus (food of plants) by this conversion the soil get more fertility. This is achieved by the worm's actions of pulling down below any organic matter deposited on the dried dirt, such as leaf fall or manure, either for food or when it needs to plug its burrow. Once in the burrow, the worm will shred the leaf and partially digest it, then mingle it with the earth by saturating it with intestinal secretions. Worm casts (see below) can contain 40% more humus than the top 9" of soil in which the worm is living.

As well as dead organic matter, the earthworm also ingests any other soil particles that are small enough—including stones up to 1/20 of an inch (1.25mm) across—into its gizzard wherein minute fragments of grit grind everything into a fine paste which is then digested in the intestine. When the worm excretes this in the form of casts which are deposited on the surface or deeper in the soil, minerals and plant nutrients are made available in an accessible form. Investigations in the US show that fresh earthworm casts are 5 times richer in available nitrogen, 7 times richer in available phosphates and 11 times richer in available potash than the surrounding upper 6 inches (150 mm) of soil. In conditions where there is plenty of available humus, the weight of casts produced may be greater than 4.5 kg (10 lb) per worm per year, in itself an indicator of why it pays the gardener or farmer to keep worm populations high. - Chemical Conventions by Earthworm Taken from Wikipedia.Org

Physical soil structure on a garden or corp field, earthworm play a vital role. By its burrowing actions, the earthworm is of great value in keeping airflow inside soil creating a multitude of channels which allow the processes of both aeration and drainage to occur.

By sliding in their tunnels, earthworms "act as an innumerable army of pistons pumping air in and out of the soils on a 24 hour cycle (more rapidly at night)". Thus the earthworm not only creates passages for air and water to traverse, but is itself a vital component in the living biosystem that is healthy soil. Earthworms continue to move through the soil due to the excretion of mucus into the soil that acts as a lubricant for easier movement of the worm - Point out by Permaculture co-founder Bill Mollison

Earthworms as invasive species: From a total of around 6,000 species, only about 120 species are widely distributed around the world. These are the peregrine or cosmopolitan earthworms.

Bangladeshi Native Earthworm Collection

Hello Everyone

On my previous article I wrote how to start an earthworm firming. Recently I have brought some kind of earthworm from outside my country. But the result is very poor.

Now I am thinking to find out our Bangladeshi Native Earthworm which is already familiar with our country's climate.

Problem is, most of my friends and other family member don't like this earthworm farm in home. So I decided to establish my new firm far away from my resident.

If anyone has any idea, please write it on comments section. I will be very glade to you.

Thanks
Ahamed Bauani
Happy Earthworm Firming

Earthworm Farming on Compost for Gardening Fertilizer is Alive Again

I started this blog in 2008, after my last post it's about 2 year I haven't update or post any new article here. But I think I should start writing on this blog with new idea to make Gardening Fertilizer from various natural source.

Why I will start writing on Earthworm Farming and other way to make Fertilizer for Garden? There is various reason, first of all I am going to make a Rooftop Garden on my home's roof. To start this Garden on my roof I need a lot of Fertilizer. Yes I know chemical fertilizer is in market but I heat them for various reason. These chemical fertilizer is toxic and dangerous for health if it is not use / store / handle properly. So the Fertilizer from Natural process is the best for a garden.

By the way, This Earthworm Farming on Compost blog has been included in 40 Cool Blogs for Composting Fanatics posting by Lawn Care Service who provide all kind of Lawn Care Service for you.  

This article is a part of  Earthworm Farming on Compost for Gardening Fertilizer Blog.