الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Honey is generally evaluated by physicochemical analysis of its constituents. Composition and properties of honey depend on its geographic floral origin, environmental factors, season and practices of beekeepers. The main objective of the present work is to investigate and assess the quality of Egyptian fennel honey which produce especially from Upper Egypt. This work was conducted in Assiut and Qena Governorates, during flow season of fennel honey during the year, 2018. Forty two fennel honey samples were collected; three samples per apiary (seven apiaries / Governorate). Laboratory studies of pollen spectrum were achieved in Applied Entomology and Zoology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University. Whereas, other physicochemical properties were conducted in Apiculture Research Department, Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Dokki, Giza. 1. Pollen spectrum in Fennel honey Samples: The results of qualitative analysis of pollen in forty two tested samples of fennel honey showed that, all the samples were classified as unifloral or monofloral, represented by one very frequent pollen type (> 45%) of Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) in all samples with a percentage ranging from 95 to 99%. The number of taxa (pollen types) present in each honey sample studied was from two to three genera. Microscopic analysis showed 8 morphological known pollen types.There was one case of unknown pollen, classified as ‘minor’ or sporadic pollen in two samples from Assuit region. The most widely represented families were Apiaceae (Foeniculum vulgare, Pimpinella anisum, Cuminum cyminum), Fabaceae (Trifolium alexandrinum, Medicago sativa), Asteraceae (Helianthus annuus),Poaceae (Zea mays) and Casuarinaceae (Casuarina sp.). The obtained data recorded that family Apiaceae was the most frequently observed in all samples (100%), followed by Fabaceae recorded in 33 samples (78.57%), 15 samples from Assiut and 18 samples from Qena. |