Boosting bee activity in avocado orchards

Bee-Tech Group is conducting trials with pollen removal and Apis Bloom pheromones which are showing encouraging results for pollination.

- Octavia Avesca Spandiel reports.

Avocado farmers could soon benefit from new pollination strategies that significantly increase honeybee activity in orchards. Speaking to Farmer's Weekly, Jaimee Harris, head of research at Bee-Tech Group, revealed findings from 2024 trials that tested pollen removal and the Apis Bloom pheromone to overcome the crop’s biggest challenge: low-quality nectar that makes avocado flowers less appealing to bees.

FORAGING SURGE

One of the interventions tested was pollen removal from hives, which resulted in a 38% increase in bee activity. “When pollen is removed from the hive, the colony experiences a shortfall in its protein reserves.

“Brood development depends heavily on protein, and pollen is the bees’ primary protein source. To compensate, more foragers are mobilised to collect pollen and restore reserves for brood rearing. This strong stimulus explains the 38% increase in bee activity and the significant rise in pollen collected in the treatment block,” she said.

APIS BLOOM

The second method trialled was Apis Bloom, a pheromone attractant that boosted bee activity by 30% despite lower pollen collection.

“Apis Bloom works by releasing the same pheromone bees used to signal a high-quality food source,” Harris noted.