A special experiment conducted by the bee-keeping wing of the Khadi and Village Industries Board in collaboration with the Central Bee Research Institute, Poona, during the blossoming of the coffee plants in Yercaud last month has proved to be a success. During the one-week period of the experiment when coffee plants were in full blossom it was found that the honey production doubled. In 12 bee-hives kept at selected places, it was found that the average yield from each box was 3 kg as against about 4 kg during normal times.

Special steps were taken to enclose a portion of the coffee plants completely secure from pollination by bees or other natural agents ensuring only self-pollination; in another section coffee plants were allowed to be pollinated by all natural agents including bees, and in the last section coffee plants were surrounded by bee-hives so as to ensure maximum pollination by bees.

The Coffee Research Department is also taking follow-up action to find out the quality and quantity of coffee seeds that would be available from each of these sections after about nine months. Experiments in Karnataka have shown that the quality and total production of coffee seeds from plants subjected to intensive pollination by bees were much better and higher than that obtained under natural conditions.