Pollination

Pollination

Pollination is an excellent way to make your orchards and fields very rich and
fruitful. Not only does it benefit the pollinator but also the farmer. A higher
concentration of bees in your orchard and fields can make YOU money!

Here's why...Bees help set as many of the early blossoms as possible.
Larger and more uniform crops
and increased pounds per acre
are associated with
an increased number
of bee visits.

Effectiveness

The effectiveness of the bee is
determined by the visits it
makes between the compatible
varieties within the orchard or
field. If the visits are confined to
one variety they are not as
effective.

Repeated cross-pollination of
the flowers must occur to
produce the optimum set. It has
been proven that some
cross-pollinations actually occur
within the hive!
Contact between the bees
causes transfer of pollen grains
from the body hairs of one bee
to the other. The return flight of
the bee, even to the same
variety of trees, results in
cross-pollination.

Moving Colonies of Bees

Moving beehives is often required early during cold and wet spring weather. Hives
must be placed early enough to help pollinate the first blossoms of fruit.
Beekeepers need to know the pollination schedule early to arrange for
movement.

Don't Spray The Bees!

Poisoning of bees by field and orchard sprays is of great concern to
beekeepers. Farmers need bees but if beehives suffer from
chemicals, their numbers will dwindle rapidly. This shortage of bees
is not only devastating to beekeepers, but also farmers who need
the bees to pollinate their crops. Spraying of insecticides when the
crop is in bloom is a violation of the Bees Act and it must be
avoided!

Why Use Honeybees For Your Crops?

Although local wild populations of honeybees and other native
pollinators assist in crop pollination they cannot be relied upon
from year to year. Populations of these fluctuate greatly from year
to year due to the weather, lack or destruction of habitat,
agricultural pesticide use, and the effect of parasitic mite
infestation.

In determining the number of hives per acre, the grower has to
consider the number of flowers per acre.

For complete pollination and better quality of fruits and
vegetables, the service of a beekeeper should be attained. Well
placed hives in the orchard or field can help ensure a steady income
to the farmer from year to year.

Pollination Recommendations

Many crops require honeybees to transfer pollen in
order to have a good seed set and to ensure that a
good fruit develops around these seed.

Around the year 2007, we began pollinating for
a few farmers using an old Chevy pick-up,
small trailer & dolly.

A newer Dodge truck replaced the old one, and
eventually we built a boom on the trailer on the
trailer to make lifting an easier task.

We recently upgraded to a bigger Dodge truck
with a powerful Ezyloader in order to
handle more heavy hives with "ease".