Mohammed Alsharhi * ⁽¹⁾, Abdoul Aziz Zabal⁽²⁾and Noofal I. Bayaqoob⁽³⁾

(1).Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Thamar University, Yemen.

(2). Ministry of Agriculture & Irrigation, Yemen.

(3).Honey bee center, Hadramout University, Yemen.

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Mohammed Alsharhi, E.mail,alsharhi@gmail.com).

Received: 23/10/2020                                Accepted: 01/2/2021

Abstract

A pollen analytical study of Yemeni honey provides a basis for identifying the origins of a honey in terms of locality and floral source: The information may be used to develop analytical standards for pollen, contributing to quality control of a product offered for export or for the home market.  Pollen analysis was carried out 68 Yemeni honey samples collected in two years (2016-2017) from Shabwah, Yemen. Pollen grains were extracted from honey samples by centrifugation, and then the process of quantitative and qualitative evaluation of pollen grains was performed under a microscopie counting slide. The results of the study showed that Sidr honey from Shabwah, Yemen is considered a mono floral honey with a high content of Sidr pollen grains, where the percentage of Sidr pollen is 63%, with an average of 48,294 Sidr pollen grains per 10 gm, and 76667 total pollen grains for every 10 g of honey. Secondary pollen associated with Sidr pollen grains can be considered a geographical source of Yemeni Sidr honey produced from Shabwa, Yemen. The results also indicated a negative correlation between the price of honey and the content of honey from Prosopis pollen and the presence of a sugar feeding during the nectar season.

Keyword: Yemeni Sider Honey, Melissopalynology, Botanical origin, Geographical Origin, Shabwah, Yemen

Full paper in Arabic: PDF