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Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan
Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, was established on 1st December, 1985 with the objective to promote education, research and extension education in the fields of Horticulture, Forestry and allied disciplines. Late Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar, the first Chief Minister and the architect of Himachal Pradesh perceived the importance of Horticulture and Forestry to develop and improve the State economy which led to the establishment of this University. Its history lies in erstwhile Himachal Agricultural College, Solan, established in 1962 and affiliated to the Panjab University. It became one of the campuses of Agriculture Complex of Himachal Pradesh University on its formation in 1970. Consequent upon the establishment of Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya in 1978, this campus became its Horticulture Complex and finally in 1985, assumed the status of a State University, being the only University in the country engaged exclusively in teaching, research and extension in Horticulture and Forestry.
The University is located at Nauni in Solan District of Himachal Pradesh, 13 km from Solan on Solan-Rajgarh Road, at an elevation of 1300 metres above mean sea level. Solan town is situated on national highway (NH-22) and is well connected by train and bus services.
The University has four constituent colleges, out of which, two are located at the main campus Nauni, one for horticulture and the other for forestry, having 9 and 7 departments, respectively. The third College i.e., College of Horticulture & Forestry is located at Neri in Hamirpur District on Nadaun-Hamirpur state highway, about 6 Km from Hamirpur town and is well connected with bus service. The college offers three Undergraduate Degree Programmes i.e. BSc (Hons.) Horticulture, BSc (Hons.) Forestry and B. Tech. Biotechnology and MSc degree programme in a few subjects. The fourth college i.e. College of Horticulture and Forestry, Thunag (Mandi) is located at Thunag District Mandi. This college offer BSc (Hons.) Horticulture and BSc (Hons.) Forestry degree programme. In addition, there are five Regional Research Stations, 12 Satellite Stations and five Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) situated in different zones of the State.
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ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF MICROBIAL CONSORTIA FOR CONVERSION OF ORGANIC WASTE TO COMPOST AND TO EVALUATE ITS EFFICACY IN PLANT GROWTH PROMOTION IN Solanum lycopersicum L.(UHF Nauni, 2024-04-18) DIMPLE; Nivedita SharmaThe present study evaluated seven potential hydrolytic enzyme-producing in-house bacterial isolates from the Microbiology laboratory of Basic Sciences. These potential bacterial isolates were morphologically and genotypically characterized and, identified as Bacillus subtilis (BM1), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (SH8), Paenibacillus polymyxa (G7), Bacillus aerius (GC6), Brevibacillus parabrevis (C1), Bacillus axarequensis (P6), and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (P9). These isolates produced various hydrolytic enzymes such as amylase, lipase, protease, cellulase, xylanase, pectinase, and laccase. These isolates showed maximum inhibition zones against various plant pathogens and also checked for its antibiogram activity. These were tested positive for various PGP attributes including ammonia, HCN, N2 fixation, protease, cellulase, chitinase, P-solubilization, siderophore, IAA, gibberellins, and cytokinin production in primary and secondary screening. Salt tolerance capability, inter-biocompatibility was also tested, and a liquid bioformulation was prepared for composting of different organic waste. Three solid based carriers i.e. charcoal, talcum, and cocopeat were tested for the formation of soild bioformulation. Charcoal was found to be the most effective solid carrier with the highest shelf life, outperforming talcum and cocopeat for the degradation of organic waste. These charcoal based compost was tested for its efficacy in Solanum lycopersicum L. under glass house conditions in a vegetable farm of UHF Nauni, Solan. The T5(biocompost) treatment showed the highest number of primary branches, fruits, average fruit weight, yield/plant, and plant height as compared to other treatments. A mature biocompost was produced under a pit experiment in Sultanpur village with a darker brown color, higher nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and Cu/Zn content as compared to the control. The compost was characterized using FTIR, SEM, and TEM, revealing its successful formation as amorphous, fibrous, and more granular than the control. This biocompost was then used in an open field conditions of Sultanpur where the highest yield of tomato and physiochemical properties of soil was observed. The T5 biocompost treatment demonstrated the highest number of primary branches/plant, fruits/plant, average fruit weight, yield/plant, fruit yield/plot, yield/ha, and plant height in field conditions. A solid bioformulation was developed using hydrolytic enzyme-producing isolates with PGP attributes to reduce chemical fertilizer usage in tomato cultivation which enhances crop production, and reduces pollution.ThesisItem Open Access OPTIMIZATION OF PROCESS PARAMETERS FOR ENHANCED LACTIC ACID PRODUCTION FROM PROBIOTICS ISOLATED FROM FERMENTED FOOD(UHF Nauni, 2023-11-04) STUTI SHARMA; Dr. Nivedita SharmaThe present study was carried out to enhance the yield of lactic acid production by optimizing the process parameters by probiotic isolates 107, Jsi9 andL.rhamnosus5300. Phenotypic characterization of all these probiotic isolates were done by studing the morphological charactersticsand genetic characterization was done by using 16S rRNA technique in which 107 identified as P.damnosus 107 and Jsi9 as L.plantarum. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of these probiotic isolates was done for estimation of lactic acid production. All probiotic isolates revealed positive reaction by changing color from yellow to pink in qualitative analysis. In quantitative analysis P. damnosus 107 and L .rhamnosus5300 revealed maximum lactic acid production i.e. 3.09g/L and 5.31 g/L respectively. Optimization of lactic acid production for enhancement of lactic acid yield was done by optimizing the process parameters. Different process parameters were employed for enhancing the yield of lactic acid i.e. carbon concentration, pH, inoculum size, incubation temperature and incubation period.Optimized conditions for P.damnosus107 were (a) carbon source concentration:1g, (b) pH: 6, (c) inoculum size: 10%,(d) incubation temperature: 35℃(e) incubation period:24h whilefor L.rhamnosus5300 (a)carbon source concentration:4g, (b) pH:6, (c) inoculum size:12.5%, (d)optimized incubation temperature and period :40℃ and 48h respectively. Percent increment in lactic acid production in case of P.damnosus 107 was from 19.74% to 26.48% whereas in case of L.rhamnosus5300 it was from 22.00% to 63.88%. Response surface methodology was employed for optimization of lactic acid production ofP. damnosus 107 and L. rhamnosus 5300. From RSM best conditions for lactic acid production of both probiotic isolates were obtained. Maximum lactic acid production estimated by P. damnosus 107 i.e. 4.70g/L while for L. rhamnosus 5300 it was 10.48 g/L. Low cost production of lactic acid was done using different types of wastes. Three different types of waste i.e. whey, apple pomace, chulli were used to produce lactic acid. Maximum lactic acid production was showed by whey with supplementation of yeast extract i.e. 3.31 g/L by P. damnosus 107 while for L.rhamnosus 5300 it was 3.97g/L. Purification of lactic acid was done by salt saturation method. P. damnosus 107 showed percent recovery of 262 % and purification fold was 2.0 whereas L.rhamnosus 5300 showed percent recovery of 396 % and purification fold was 4.96.ThesisItem Open Access EFFECT OF CHICKEN FEATHER HYDROLYSATE ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF FRENCH BEAN(UHF Nauni, 2023-12-12) KRITIKA KESTA; Dr. Sunita DeviThe primary objective of this study was to test the ability of five keratinolytic bacterial strains viz., Bacillus halotolerans L2EN1, B. cereus N27, B. cereus N14, B. megaterium N35, and B. halotolerans DPE11, individually and in a consortium form, to break down chicken feathers into a hydrolysate known as chicken feather hydrolysate (CFH). The results revealed that consortium of these strains exhibited a higher degree of feather degradation compared to individual strains, indicating its superior performance. The nutritional analysis of the prepared CFHs indicated the presence of various amino acids (Essential-isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine; Nonessential- serine, cysteine, alanine, glycine, and arginine), macro (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, and calcium) and micronutrients (zinc, iron, manganese, and copper), proteins, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and ammonia. The consortiumbased CFH showed notable advantages over the individual strains in terms of the type (Essential-8; Non-essential-5) and concentration of released amino acids (32.43 μg/mL), composition of macro (nitrogen- 20672 ppm; phosphorus-164.11 ppm; potassium-510.20 ppm; Sulphur- 1267.30 ppm; calcium-520 ppm) and micro (zinc-2.85 ppm; iron-210 ppm; copper- 1.46 ppm; manganese-0.99 ppm) nutrients, protein content (2795 μg/mL), antioxidant activity (0.31 mg/mL), Indole-3-acetic acid (35.78 μg/mL), and ammonia (strong) production. These findings suggest that the consortium-based CFH holds potential as a sustainable source of organic fertilizer for promoting plant growth. Subsequent in- vitro experiments involved testing varied proportions (%) of CFH under different treatment combinations {T1 - 1.0; T2 - 2.5; T3 - 5.0; T4 - 7.5; T5 - 10.0; T6 - 12.5; T7 - 15.0; T8 (Control) - no CFH} as an organic fertilizer for French bean cv. Contender cultivation. After harvesting, all treatments exhibited a significant increase in the populations of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, as well as in the concentrations of major nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), compared to the measurements taken before sowing. However, treatment T5 was recorded with highest population density (log CFU/g) of bacteria (12.71), fungi (10.19), and actinomycetes (4.99) amongst all treatments. On analogy, treatment T5, which contained 10 per cent CFH, notably enhanced several growth parameters including field emergence (96.00%), plant height (57.60 cm), number of branches per plant (7.60), plant spread (32.04 cm), root length (30.20 cm), shoot length (31.33 cm), vigour index (5906.88), days to first flowering (32.20), and days to maturity (70.00) as well as yield characteristics, such as the number of pods per plant (11.27), pod length (14.48), single pod weight (2.81), number of seeds per pod (5.53), seed weight per pod (2.03), 100-seed weight (45.03), seed yield per plant (25.67 g), seed yield per plot (616.03 g), and seed yield per hectare (4928.64 kg/ha). Furthermore, T5 improved the quality of harvested seeds, as evidenced by higher germination percentage (95.50%), seedling dry weight (2129.96 mg), seedling length (35.71 cm), seed vigour index-I (3413.3), seed vigour index-II (203411.20), and electrical conductivity (25.47 μS cm -1). In conclusion, immersing French bean cv. Contender seeds in a 10 per cent CFH solution for 12 hours is recommended to enhance growth, yield, and the production of high-quality seeds.ThesisItem Open Access PARTIAL PURIFICATION OF FRUCTOSYLTRANSFERASE PRODUCED FROM POTENTIAL MICROBIAL ISOLATE AND ITS APPLICATION IN PREBIOTIC PREPARATION(UHF Nauni, 2024-01-24) Puneet; Neha GautamThe present investigation was carried out to isolate, screen and identify efficient Fructosyltransferse (FTase) producing microorganisms from different fruits and vegetables. Enzyme production, optimization, solid state fermentation, partial purification, characterization, fructooligosaccharides (FOS)production were performed with selected strains to recommend their use for food industries. In total,96 microorganisms including 82 bacteria and 14 fungi were isolated. Among them, two bacteria S1 andGO6 were screened for FTase enzyme production studies. The bacterial isolates were identified as B. stercorisS1 and Bacillus sp.GO6. Bacillus stercoris S1 was identified by 16S rRNA gene technique and registered in NCBI under accession no. OR553400. FTaseenzyme production was optimized through classical one variable at a time (OVAT) approach as well as by response surface methodology (RSM) varying inoculum size, incubation time, temperature, pH,sucrose concentration and nitrogen source. Maximum FTase activity was 119.55 U/ml for B. stercoris S1 and 134.75 U/ml for Bacillus sp. GO6 after optimization through OVAT and RSM.Extracellular FTase production was carried out under SSF by utilizing apple pomace as a substrate for growth of B.stercoris S1 and Bacillus sp. GO6. Maximum enzyme activity was assessed on 8th day of fermentation i.e. 78.03 U/ml with B. stercoris S1 and on 7th day i.e. 72.36 U/ml with Bacillus sp.GO6withmicrowave pretreated apple pomace.Partial purification of FTase was achieved by fractional precipitation by ammonium sulphate at 30-60%. In B. stercoris S1, FTase titresafter partial purification were 161.25 U/ml with specific activity 497.68 U/mg, purification fold and recovery percent 1.73 and 73.6 % respectively. While for Bacillus sp. GO6 the FTase activity was 175 U/ml with specific activity 484.76 U/mg, purification fold 2.13 and 77 % recovery. Partially purified FTase were found active in a temperature range 300C to 800C and in pH range of 5.0 to 9.0. FTase were found stable at -200C for 45 days. Fructooligosaccharides were produced by incubating sucrose with FTase at 500C. FOS was characterized by biochemical tests, Thin Layer Chromatography and Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy. After confirming the presence of basic units of fructooligosaccharides, these were further applied as prebiotics to enhance the growth of probiotic isolate Lactobacillusspicheri G2. FOS appeared to enhance growth of Lactobacillus spicheri G2 after 24 hours thus proposing its use as prebiotics.ThesisItem Open Access ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MUSHROOM GROWTH PROMOTING BACTERIA AND THEIR EFFECT ON GROWTH AND QUALITY OF SHIITAKE MUSHROOM (Lentinula edodes)(UHF Nauni, 2023-12-23) Prachi Sharma; Neerja RanaThe plant growth promoting bacteria stimulate mycelial growth and fruiting by enhancing nutrient elements concentration, protein and carbohydrate contents. Mushroom growth promoting bacteria (MGPB) are potential agents to increase the growth of mushroom. MGP bacteria promote the mycorrhizal growth and improves nature of the substrate by secretion of secondary metabolites and help in mushroom fructification. The spent mushroom compost can be a good source of growth promoting bacterial for mushroom cultivation. The present investigation entitled “Isolation and characterization of mushroom growth promoting bacteria and their effect on growth and quality of Shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes)” was carried out in the Microbiology Laboratory of Department of Basic Sciences during the years 2021-2023.The samples of spent mushroom compost (SMC) were collected from two locations of Solan i.e., Directorate of Mushroom Research, Chambaghat and University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni. The isolation of bacterial isolates was carried out by using Nutrient agar medium. A total of 45 bacterial isolates were isolated from SMC and purified for further studies. Out of 45 bacterial isolates (23 from two sites of UHF and 22 from two sites of DMR) 28 were P-solubilizers, 29 were nitrogen fixers, 19 were HCN producers, 22 were siderophore producers and 23 were IAA producers. Three bacterial isolates (NS1-9, NS2-23 and DMR1-36) out of 45 isolates were selected on the basis of multifarious PGPR traits. Among the selected bacterial isolates, maximum P- solubilization was shown by isolate DMR1-36, both qualitatively (82.07%) and quantitatively (134 μg/ml). Maximum siderophore production efficiency(SE%) was observed in isolate DMR1-36 ( 65.05%) on solid CAS medium and in case of liquid medium, it was found to be 150.83μg/ml. Bacterial isolate DMR1-36 showed significantly high production of IAA (67.24 μg/ml) with the decrease in pH from 7.0 to 6.78. All three bacterial isolates showed maximum growth at temperature of 35° C, pH 7.0 and incubation period of 48 hours. The three selected bacterial isolates were tested for the growth of Shiitake mushroom in field experiments. Mushrooms inoculated with treatment T7 (consortia of GPB1+GPB2+GPB3) showed maximum increase in yield (59.4%) and biological efficiency when compared to uninoculated control. Treatment T7 registered 52.5 per cent increase in antioxidant enzyme assay content, 41.4 per cent increase in protein content, 54.7 percent in carbohydrate content, 59.8 per cent increase in ash content content and 58.9 percent increase in phenolic content over uninoculated control (T0). The treatment T7 also registered 81.1 percent increase in N uptake, 86.1 percent increase in P uptake and 84.2 percent increase in K uptake of Shiitake mushroom over the uninoculated control. The NPK, OC% and EC content of the compost treated with T7 also increased significantly over the uninoculated control. Hence, consortia of the selected bacterial isolates can be used as potential biofertilizers which significantly enhances the growth and quality of Shiitake mushroom.ThesisItem Open Access Breakthrough of Natural Farming in Himachal Pradesh: A Statistical Survey(UHF Nauni, 2023-11-01) ADIT KUMAR YADAV; Ashu ChandelThe study "Breakthrough of Natural Farming in Himachal Pradesh: A Statistical Survey" was conducted in the Indora block of Kangra district, with a representative sample of 100 farmers. The average family size was around 5, and the literacy index was 2.71 for males and 2.05 for females. Approximately 79.52% of households were engaged in agriculture, with an average of 3.53 workers per household. The study found that the average landholding size was 0.79 hectares, with 0.68 hectares cultivated. Under Natural Farming (NF), the average area was 0.32 hectares, while Conventional Farming (CF) covered 0.36 hectares. NF showed a cropping intensity of 196.78%. Indigenous cows accounted for about 64.66% of the total livestock. The research revealed that farm income contributed 54.77% to the total household income. NF demonstrated four major crop combinations with 19 crops in both Kharif and Rabi seasons. Vegetables-Pulse combination had the highest cultivation cost in both seasons. NF outperformed CF in Crop Equivalent Yield (CEY), ranging from 29.38 to 38.81 quintals/ha in Kharif and 34.94 to 38.41 quintals in Rabi season. Cost reduction under NF ranged from ₹68.5 to ₹9,021.2 (i.e., 0.13% to 15.60%) as compared to CF. Gross returns were significantly higher in NF, with ₹60,338 to ₹2,03,534 per hectare, particularly in Vegetables-Pulses combination. The study utilized jackknife resampling to demonstrate comparable yields and gross income. NF's CEY through jackknife resampling was 35.026 quintals/bigha, while CF had 34.885 quintals/bigha. In the study area, farmers encountered challenges such as a lack of specialized markets, reliance on labour-intensive practices, difficulties in obtaining fair prices for their produce, and coping with higher wage rates. In conclusion, the study emphasizes that NF give higher CEY and higher returns leading more profitable and regenerative nature of NF. Through a variety of extension services, the government must put initiatives to promote the use of NF and develop eco-friendly habitats. Addressing challenges like specialized markets and labour-intensive practices can potentially double or triple farmer incomes with minimal investment. SignatureThesisItem Open Access CHARACTERIZATION OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA AS PROBIOTICS AND TO ASSESS THEIR FUNCTIONAL PROFICIENCY IN A FERMENTED BEVERAGE(UHF Nauni, 2023-11-26) AKSHITA; Dr.Nivedita SharmaThe present investigation was carried out to evaluate lactic acid-producing isolates for their application in the preparation of nutritionally enriched functional food. Total, 3 in-house lactic acid bacterial strains isolated from 3 different food matrices viz. Gundruk, Dhaheli, and corn molasses (reference strain) were selected for the evaluation of their therapeutic potential as probiotics. Safety assessment of the isolates were done by evaluating hemolytic, DNase, gelatinase activities, and antibiotic susceptibility. All three isolates exhibited non-hemolytic, non- DNase, and non-gelatinase activities and were highly sensitive to all the antibiotics, thereby proving overall safe status. These screened isolates were further assessed for their probiotic potential viz. acidity tolerance, bile tolerance, α-amylase and GABA activity. All three screened isolates were highly acidity tolerant with 92%, 78% respectively at a low pH i.e. 3.0 after 3 h of incubation These three isolates were also able to resist high bile salt concentration i.e. 86%, 89 % survival rate at 1.5% bile salt concentration after 4 h. . The amylase activity of all three isolates i.e. L. spicheri G2, E. lactis Dh2. and L. delbrueckii 2025 had exhibited clear zones and were designated as amylaseproducing strains. Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) activity was analyzed and L. spicheri G2 and L. delbrueckii had showed higher GABA production in terms bright yellow colored colonies as compared to E. lactis Dh2. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of selected probiotics isolates was done. In Qualitative analysis, the colour change from yellow to pink indicated the presence of lactic acid. In the case of quantitative analysis, the maximum titratable acidity and lactic acid were observed in G2 i.e. 2.88% and 4.17g/L as a compared to Dh2 and 2025 i.e. 1.44% and 3.72 g/L respectively. Out of three isolates, two were selected on the basis of higher lactic acid production. Optimization of COFAT for LA production of selected probiotic iaolates i.e G2, Dh2, and 2025 was done where strain L. spicheri G2 showed production of LA on different process parameters i.e carbon source concentration: (5.1g/L), pH: (4.72g/L), inoculum size (5.44g/L), temperature: (4.40g/L) ,incubation time: (8.12g/L) and strain L. delbrueckii 2025 showed production of LA on different process parameters i.e carbon source concentration: (4.93g/L), pH: (4.17g/L), inoculum size(4.91g/L), temperature:(5.38g/L), incubation time: (6.52g/L). After optimization through OFAT, the percent increment of lactic acid for LA production of probiotic strain i.e L. spicheri G2 with initial LA was 22.30% and increased to 59.21% where L. delbrueckii 2025 with initial LA was 21.02 and increased to 32.25%. RSM overall increase in LA production by L. spicheri G2 was observed to be 8.05mg/ml with optimized conditions i.e. 48 h incubation time, 35°C, 6.0 pH, 2% carbon concentration,. In the case of L. delbrueckii 2025 with 6.52g/L LA production under optimized conditions were 48 h incubation time, 35°C temperature, 6.0 pH, 2% carbon concentration. Depending upon these better probiotic potential L. spicheri G2 and L. delbrueckii 2025 were selected for further study been used to prepare probiotic enriched functional probiotic red rice beverage with or without peach pulp. Rice beverage fermented with lactic acid producing probiotic bacteria had overall enhanced its health promoting properties besides nutritional profile, thus designating it as a functional drink having good taste, aroma and appearing color. In total, increased nutritional, therapeutic and desirable phyisco-chemical characteristics make it a functional proficient fermented beverage rich in lactic acid producing probiotics.ThesisItem Open Access IDENTIFICATION OF STABLE VARIETIES AND FORECASTING MODEL FOR ASSESSING CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON APPLE YIELD AND HARVEST LOSSES IN HIMACHAL PRADESH(UHF,NAUNI, 2023-12-12) NEHA MISHRA; R K GUPTAABSTRACT The present study has been carried out in high hill zone and cold dry zone of Himachal Pradesh which was divided into three zones as per altitudinal range viz. Zone I (1000-1600 m amsl), Zone II (1600-2200 m amsl) and Zone III (Above 2200 m amsl) to identify the stable varieties, development of forecasting model to assess the impact of climate change and assessing the harvest losses. Primary data was recorded for the metric characters to identify stable varieties for response patterns to environmental change. Jeromine was found to be stable genotype for all the metric characters studied using multi trait stability index. Pre harvest forecast models of apple yield for the varieties studied were done using multiple linear regression. Secondary data for the period of 1990-2021was used to forecast apple yield on the basis of weather parameters indicating all the parameters serve as best fit model using ARIMAX model. Vulnerability index for Lahaul Spiti district had highest value (0.539) and Shimla district had the lowest value (0.448) among five selected districts using Iyengar and Sudarshan method. The agricultural and occupational variables were the major contributors towards the vulnerability over the period 2000-2021 for the selected districts. The contribution of the climatic variables towards vulnerability was highest in Solan district (25.95 %) and lowest in Shimla district (9.97 %), the contribution of demographic variables was also highest in Solan (15.38 %) and lowest in Shimla district (7.63%). Furthermore the study explored total production of apple per hectare for each zone which was found to be higher for zone II (1600-2200) m amsl i.e. 64.35 q/ha with higher losses (10.58%) among all the zones considered for the present study. Overall, this investigation provided valuable insights into apple genotype stability, yield forecasting, vulnerability to climate change, and losses during harvesting and grading stages which offered useful implications for apple growers to adapt with the climate change, policThesisItem Open Access FORECASTING OF HONEY PRODUCTION IN HIMACHAL PRADESH(UHF,NAUNI, 2023-09-30) RESHAV THAKUR; ASHU CHANDELABSTRACT The present investigation was carried out to forecast the honey production in Himachal Pradesh. The secondary data on honey production for 14 years (2008-09 to 2021-22) was taken in study the socio-economy of beekeepers with marketing channels from the sample size of 50 beekeepers. Various linear, non-linear and ARIMA models were used in the study. Regression models were selected on the basis of significant regression coefficients, maximum value of R̅2, Significant t-statistic for the regression coefficients, minimum values of RMSE and Theil’s inequality coefficient (U). Autoregressive integrated moving average models were also fitted where differencing of original values makes the series stationary which gives the value of order d in ARIMA (p, d, q). the order of AR(p) term and MA(q) term were identified using ACF and PACF plots of different series. Power model was found the best as per values of highest R̅2 and the predicted values using power model were nearer to the actual values of honey production. ARIMA (1,1,1) was selected as best fitted model and prediction of honey production was done. By that socio- economic status and marketing channels of honey in Himachal Pradesh were also explored. The average family size of the beekeepers is 5 persons per household i.e., 5-6 person/s households in studied area. The education level of beekeepers varied, with the majority having completed matriculation or undergraduate degrees. Beekeeping methods were divided between full-time and part-time, with a higher proportion using modern methods. The average number of livestock in the sampled households was 1-2, mainly comprising cows. The cow milch were 72.56% out of which 47.90% was from local cow breed. In terms of honey production and income, three groups were identified based on the number of beekeeping boxes. The study found that the second marketing channel, "Producer → Wholesaler → Retailer → Consumer," was the most commonly used by beekeepers. In conclusion, the power model and ARIMA (1, 1, 1) were identified as the best models for estimating honey production in Himachal Pradesh. Out of which ARIMA (1, 1, 1) was better for the prediction. The study also highlighted the effectiveness of the "Producer → Wholesaler → Retailer → Consumer" marketing channel for beekeepers.
