Use of mason bees for pollination in covered organic orchards (BIOFRUITNET Practice Abstract)

Good pollination is essential for fruit yield and quality. However, the population of bees (honeybees, wild bees), the primary pollinators, is decreasing. Pollinators are often present in too few numbers in intensive fruit orchards, also organic ones.

Mason bees, which fly at lower temperatures (4°C on) compared to honeybees, are placed into the orchards just before flowering to improve pollination.

Organically managed honeybees have healthier gene activity than conventional honey bees

The study is published in the journal Insects. The Honey bees are of great economic importance, not only for honey production but also for crop pollination. However, honey bee populations continue to decline mainly due to exposure to pesticides, pathogens and beekeeping practices. In this study, total soluble protein was measured, total RNA was extracted and first-strand cDNAs were generated.