Although rubber plantation was identified as a source of honey since 1920's, organised commercial exploitation of honey from rubber plantations in India is a relatively recent development under the auspices of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), The available estimates on the production of apiary honey provided by KVIC underline the importance of rubber plantations as a source of honey. The rubber tree is a prolific source of honey which is obtained from the extra floral nectaries at the tip of the petiole, where the leaflets join. Honey flow period is between the months of January and March.

Though there are four main species of honey bees, Apis mellifera, Apis cerana indica, Apis dorsata and Apis florea, only the first two are used in apicultural due to operational hindrance in domesticating the other two wild bee species. A. mellifera is the most common species in the world while A. cerana indica is an indigenous variety which is the most common species in the rubber plantations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A. mellifera was introduced in India in the 1960's and was successfully reared in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. In the rubber plantations, this species was introduced as a rehabilitation measure by the KVIC after the outbreak of Thai sacbrood disease in the early 1990's which almost completely destroyed the hives of A. cerana indica.
Experimental trials have reported up to 19 kg of honey per hive per year for the popular Indian honey bee, A. cerana indica compared to the reported average yield of 60 kg per hive per year for A. mellifera. The estimated net income per hive per year during 1996-98 was Rs.871 and Rs.224 for A. mellifera and A. cerana indica respectively. It has been found that on an average 100 hives of A. cerana indica or 25 hives of A. mellifera can be managed by a single grower/be keeper. The estimated production of honey from rubber plantations was 1250 tonnes during 2000-2001, which was less than two per cent of the potential during the year.

The processing of honey involves indirect heating, mainly to prevent fermentation and granulation. The conventional processing methods of heating honey in containers at around 63⁰C spoils the natural properties by overheating. The modern honey processing-cum-moisture reduction plant developed by Central Bee Research and Training Institute (CBRT), Pune is reported to be capable of maintaining the quality of honey by preventing fermentation and delaying granulation. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications, honey is classified in to three grades based on moisture content. It prescribes less than 20 per cent moisture for 'special grade', 20-22 per cent for 'grade A' and 22-25 per cent for 'standard grade'. According to the specifications, rubber honey belongs to medium grade (Grade A) with an average moisture content of 22 per cent.
Lack of honey flow in rubber during the prolonged dearth period from April to December necessitates alternate bee flora for off-season management in rubber plantation based apiaries. The forage plants identified by the RRII are:
a) Antigonon leptopus polygonaceae
b) Callistemon lanceolatus myrtaceae
c) Manihot glaziovii euphorbiaceae, and
d) Pongamia glabra leguminoceae

Apart from honey, other principal hive products are pollen , propolis, beeswax, royal jelly and bee venom which also have industrial uses. The major consuming industries for honey in the domestic market are the ayurvedic and allopathic pharmaceutical firms, bakery, confectionery, diary and tobacco manufacturing.

In order to provide an alternate source of income for the growers, the Rubber Board is encouraging bee keeping among the rubber growers. A scheme for extending financial assistance for bee keeping was introduced by the Rubber Board in 1996 - 97. Under the scheme, the small growers owning a total rubber area between 0.5 and 2.50 acres and the tappers of smallholdings are eligible for bee keeping subsidy. The financial assistance granted per unit - consisting of 40 hives per S.H. group will get Rs. 20000/- . To become eligible for subsidy the hives and equipments should be purchased from agencies, approved by the Rubber Board. The list of approved agencies in each region can be had from the concerned Regional Offices of Rubber Board. The application for bee keeping subsidy is to be submitted to the Regional Offices.

To encourage bee keeping in rubber plantations the Training and Technical Consultancy Department of Rubber Board conducts training programmes in bee keeping.