Chitwan. A type of mite called ‘Tropilapsis mite’, which has been a major problem in bee hives in Asian countries including India, has been spotted for the first time in Nepal.
The mite was discovered by foreign scientists who came to participate in a three-day international conference organized by the University of Agriculture and Forestry here during an inspection of a beehive in the district.
The mite was spotted during an inspection of a commercial beehive in eastern Chitwan along with a team of scientists from Korea and Taiwan participating in an international conference on ‘Agricultural Transformation’ organized by the university’s Faculty of Agriculture.
Member of the university’s international conference committee According to Associate Professor Ramhari Timilsina, Deputy Director of Research and Extension, the mite was found during an inspection conducted by a team including Dr. Kedar Devkota, a bee and pollination expert at the university, Sujan Amgai, head of the Bee Development Office, Chitwan, Chuliai Jun from Angdong University, South Korea, and Jen Yan from National Chung Sing University, Taiwan.
After submitting all the evidence to the Nepal government, the government will have to officially certify that the mite has been found. So far, the Nepal government has been stating that the disease has not been seen in mellifera here.
Although it has been seen in honey bees and bumblebees, the disease was not seen in commercially reared mellifera. Devkota, a bee and pollinator expert, confirmed that the mite seen during the inspection by foreign scientists was Tropilapsis.
Devkota informed that they had also advised farmers and Nepali experts to be vigilant as the Verva mite was also seen during the same period and that it would increase further in June, July and August.
According to him, at a conference on bee disease and pest management held in the Netherlands three months ago, discussions were held on control of Tropilapsis, stating that it was a major problem in Asian countries. Shiva Sharma, the outgoing president of the Nepal Beekeepers Association, who was with the scientists, said that farmers should be vigilant now that the mites have been seen.
He said that precautions should be taken to prevent the spread of mites. Prof. Arjun Kumar Shrestha, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture of the university, said that this new problem has been identified, saying that there have been various other important achievements during the conference.
He said, ‘This has a huge impact on bees, work should be started to control it in time.’ This problem has led to a decrease in honey production in countries including India.
Scientists from Nepal, the US, Taiwan, Korea, Bangladesh, India and Norway are participating in the conference. Shrestha informed that scientists have presented more than 50 working papers in the conference to date.
He informed that more than 700 people have benefited from the conference. The conference discussed research conducted by the university, discussed the research and status of agriculture at the international level, and identified and prioritized research topics to be conducted by the university in the future.
Along with this, scientists who came from outside have made on-site studies on various topics related to agriculture here and made suggestions.
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