Bee vectoring trial tackles apple core rot problem

Bee-Tech Group, in partnership with Woolworths and Graaff Fruit, has launched a new trial using bees to fight apple core rot in red apples in Ceres in the Western Cape.

- Octavia Avesca Spandiel

The project is aimed at reducing fungal infections in apples by using bees to deliver biological products directly to flowers during pollination.

Speaking to Farmer's Weekly, Michael Bruggeman, founder of Bee-Tech Group, said the patented bee vectoring device was first developed with the help of Rhodes University, and later refined by Bee-Tech's head of research Jamie Harris and the Bee-Tech team.

"We worked on it for about three to four years, testing different versions. The initial trials were done on blueberries and strawberries using beneficial fungi like Metarhizium and Trichoderma," he said.