Beekeeping Practices, Physiochemical Properties and Consumer Acceptability of Honey Collected from the Forest and Backyard Hives in Pandamatenga, Botswana.

Abstract

Beekeeping is an important agricultural activity in Botswana and supports the livelihoods of many people in the country. However, there is limited documented evidence on apicultural practices and quality of honey produced in different parts of the country. Pandamatenga village is located in north-eastern part of Botswana and is characterized by a hot semi-arid climate and dense natural vegetation cover. Due to its fertile soil and better rainfall relative to other parts of the country, Pandamatenga area has high agricultural potential. This study was conducted to assess beekeeping practices and determine the physicochemical properties and consumer acceptability of honey produced in Pandamatenga village. Honeybee production practices were assessed by conducting questionnaire survey. Three honey samples were obtained each from backyard hives and the forest and analysed for their physicochemical properties. Consumer acceptability test was also conducted on the honey samples using 9-point hedonic scale. Honey samples collected from backyard hives had an average moisture (%), total ash (%), free acidity (meq/kg), pH, reducing sugars (%), sucrose (%) and Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) (mg/kg) contents of 16.93±0.23, 0.13±0.042, 11.00±0.01, 6.67±0.01, 56.60±0.34, 1.54±0.00 and 26.00±0.10, respectively. The corresponding values for honey samples collected from the forest were 24.87±0.23, 0.35±0.144, 67.00±1.52, 4.28±0.02, 56.93±0.18, 1.17±0.14 and 33.17±0.60, respectively. Moisture, free acidity and HMF contents of forest honey samples were significantly higher (p<0.05) than the corresponding values for backyard honey. On the other hand, the pH and sucrose contents of backyard honey samples were significantly higher(p<0.05) than the corresponding values for forest honey. Backyard honey had significantly higher scores (p<0.05) for colour, appearance and grassy aroma as compared to forest honey. The survey result showed that Pandamatenga area has a big potential for honey production with an average of 20.7 liters of honey produced per household per year. In conclusion, honey produced in Pandamatenga area is of good quality and all the honey samples analysed were within the limits of international standards for honey.