5th Standard Science Term-III
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II. Apiculture
Rearing of honey bees for honey is known as apiculture. It is also called bee keeping. In this technique honey bees are reared in a specially designed wooden boxes. Honey bees have been very closely associated with humans since ancient times. Various products like honey and wax are obtained from honey bees. Earlier, honey was extracted from the hives in the forests. Nowadays they are domesticated by farmers to produce honey. Bee keeping is a profitable rural based industry. Honey bees are social insects. The nest of honey bee is known as the bee hive. They live in colonies and show division of labour.
1. Types of Honey Bee
Three types of honey bees are found in a colony. They are : Queen bee, the Drones and the Worker bees.
🔘 Queen Bee
The queen bee is the largest member of the bee colony. There is only one queen and it is the fertile female of the colony. They are formed from fertile eggs. The queen is responsible for laying eggs in a colony. It lays about two thousand eggs per day. The life span of the queen bee is 3-4 years.
🔘 Drones
Drones are the fertile males. They develop from unfertilized eggs. They are larger than the workers and smaller than the queen. Their main function is to fertilize the eggs produced by the queen. They also help in maintenance of hive temperature. The number of drones in a colony amounts to hundreds and sometimes to thousands. The normal life span of a drone is 57 days.
🔘 Worker Bees
These are sterile female bees and the smallest members of the colony. These bees are very active. Their function is to collect honey, look after the young ones, clean the comb, defend the hive and maintain the temperature of the bee hive. Life span of worker bee is six weeks.
Useful products from Honey Bees
Honey and bee wax are obtained from honey bees. Other products which are obtained from bee venom, propolis and royal jelly.
🔘 Honey
Honey is a sweet, viscous, edible natural food product. It contains proteins, free amino acids, vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, phosphorus and manganese. The following are the uses of honey.
🔘 It helps in building up haemoglobin content in the blood.
🔘 It is used in Ayurvedic and Unani system of medicines.
🔘 It prevents cough, cold, fever and relieves sore throat.
🔘 It enhances digestion and appetite.
🔘 It provides essential aminoacids required for the growth of the body.
Bee wax
Bee wax is secreted by the wax glands of worker bee to construct the combs of bee hive. Some of the uses of bee wax are given below.
🔘 It is widely used in cosmetic industry.
🔘 The wax is used in the preparation of shoe polish and manufacture of cold creams, lipsticks, candles and lubricants.
🔘 It is also used in the preparation of ointments and in pharmaceutical industry.
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III. Manure
Manure is an organic matter used as fertilizer. It is mostly derived from animal and plant residues. It increases the fertility of the soil by adding nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It is a natural form of fertilizer and it is cheaper.
1. Types of Manure
Animal manure, green manure and compost manure are the different types of manures.
🔘 Animal manure
Common form of animal manure is the farmyard manure. It contains the feces and urine of different livestock like horse, cattle, pig, sheep, chicken, turkey and rabbit. It contains nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It increases the capacity of the soil to hold more water and nutrients.
🔘 Green manure
This manure is obtained by the decomposition of green leaves, twigs of trees, shrubs and herbs which are added into the farm land before starting cultivation. Leguminous plants like wild indigo (kolunchi) are used for this purpose. These plants are ploughed in the soil. They fix nitrogen in the root of the plants. They also help in suppression of weeds and prevention of soil erosion.
🔘 Compost
Compost is obtained by the decomposition of organic matter like crop residues, animal wastes and food wastes by various microorganisms like bacteria and fungi under controlled conditions. These microorganisms break down organic matter into simpler substances.
IV. Vermiculture
Vermiculture or Vermicomposting is a method of transforming organic wastes such as leaves, pieces of wood etc., into a nutrient rich fertilizer using earth worms. It is a healthy and clean way to eliminate wastes going into our landfills. It helps to keep the environment clean. Earthworms eat the organic wastes and excrete it in the form of castings. This is known as vermicompost. It is used as fertilizer for the soil and it improves the properties of the soil.
1. Materials used for Vermicomposting
Organic matters which are biologically degradable are used in vermicomposting. Some of them are given below.
➔ Crop residues like rice straw, rice husk, tea wastes and tobacco wastes.
➔ Fruit and vegetable wastes.
➔ Animal wastes like cattle dung, poultry droppings and droppings of goat and sheep.
2. Advantages of Vermicompost
➔ Vermicompost provides the essential nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus for the plant growth.
➔ It improves the water holding capacity of the soil and prevents soil erosion.
➔ It enhances plant growth, suppresses diseases in plants, increases porosity and improves water retention and aeration.
➔ It is used to clean sewage.
➔ It reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
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