Mekelle Agricultural Research Center, P. O. Box 258, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia; Tigray Agricultural Research Institute, P. O. Box 492, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
Gebremedhn, H., Mekelle Agricultural Research Center, P. O. Box 258, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia; Estifanos, A., Tigray Agricultural Research Institute, P. O. Box 492, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
With high adoption of the modern beehive in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia, there is shortage of beeswax for preparation of the foundation sheet. Thus there is high demand of beeswax by the beekeepers and its cost has been increasing dramatically from time to time. Hence a study was designed to familiarize alternative new technology, Kenyan top bar hive (KTBH) and to evaluate its honey productivity under farmers' condition. A total of 15 honeybee colonies which had similar strength were selected for comparison of KTBH with Modern beehive (MH) under farmers' condition. Honey yield data from each hive per harvesting season was recorded immediately after harvest. The collected data were analyzed using GLM analysis of variance procedure. There was significant difference between modern and Kenyan top bar hive for honey yield. The potential productivity of the modern hive (22.8 kg/hive) was higher than the KTBH (17.8 kg/hive). In Begasheka honey yield from the modern hive (25.7 kg/harvest) was significantly higher than the Kenyan top bar hive (17.8 Kg/harvest). While, in Debrekidan there was no significant difference between both hives. It is therefore recommended to use the KTBH as an alternative technology in areas like Debrekidan watershed for farmers with little skill in modern hive management and to minimize the shortage of beeswax.