Crop pollination a buzz in the industry

By
Susan_Kirk
– August 30, 2009Posted in: Horticultural Science, pollinators

While the mite has not breached biosecurity yet, we should be looking at the possible scenarios. One fact seems to be universal, we should not be relying solely on honey bees (Apis mellifera) for crop pollination.

There are alternatives. Australia has 2,000 odd social and solitary native bee species. In the sub-tropics the Trigona species (stingless social bees) have proven to be efficient crop pollinators, with and without the help of honey bees.

Mark Grosskopf, a commercial pollinator, who has been operating the Australian Native Bee Crop Pollination Services since 2000 believes that the native bees will fill the gap, if not completely take over pollination from honey bees.

Mark saw the potential to increase horticultural yields through a concentrated level of pollinators and at the same time effect conservation of the native bees. He services all of the eastern seaboard of Australia with over 150 hives of Trigona carbonaria, which he maintains are the major pollen vectors in crops.

“Growers should really consider bringing in a pollination professional.

“The bees can be brought in on demand.

“Trigona effectively pollinates many sub-tropical and tropical fruits, nuts and berries including canola, avocados, macadamias and all of the curcubits.

“Pesticide poisoning can be mitigated through management whilst the bees are onsite.

“Growers are losing 10% of the value of their crop through ineffective pollination, then there is the possibility of waste on that scale of all other inputs, including labour, chemicals etc,” said Mark.

Mark services a growing number of macadamia farmers as there is a considerable amount of research on the effectiveness of pollination of macadamias by Trigona carbonaria.

In an article in the Journal of Apicultural Research Dr Tim Heard reported the results of a study on the behaviour and pollination efficiency of stingless bees, (Trigona carbonaria) and honey bees (Apis mellifera) on macadamia flowers.

The study confirms that Trigona carbonaria were efficient pollinators of macadamia, probably more efficient than honey bees.

He also suggests encouraging both species into orchards, by preserving natural colonies of stingless and honey bees and, introduction of hives of both species, where wild populations are limited.

Frank Adcock operates a four hectare macadamia farm, Keelar Place at Nashua. He is a shareholder in the Macadamia Processing Company, (MCP) and manages 1,200 trees.

He started using native bees as pollinators in 2002 and now has 10 hives per hectare, adding that that should increase to 20 in the next two years, to become close to optimum numbers.

He propagates Trigona carbonaria, Trigona hockingsi and Austroplebeia. australis and from his observations believes that Trigona carbonaria is the specialist pollinator of Macadamia integrifolia and Macadamia tetraphylla.

“With the right pollinator you can lift production by a factor of two to three and produce a bigger nut,” said Frank.

Thomas Carter is a another keen native bee keeper. He has documented success with pollination of watermelon and has sold many commercial hives to watermelon farmers with one farmer reporting melons weighing between 15 and 18 kilograms.

Russell and Janine Zabel also sell colonies of native bees from their property in Dalby, including Trigona carbonaria, Trigona hockingsi and Austroplebeia australis. They sell a hundred colonies per year throughout Queensland, NSW and South Australia.

In 1998, the Zabels were fortunate to have been introduced to Dr. Kazuhiro Amano, the chief entomologist for the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Dr. Amano was experimenting with Australian native bees for pollination. Honeybees are too dangerous for small scale cropping, especially in tunnels, and with over 700,000 greenhouses in Japan, stingless bees are ideal.

Dr. Amano believed that Trigona Carbonaria was well suited to many parts of Japan and in Spring 1998, he took three hives back with him. In Spring (1999), he exported a further six hives. And in June, 2000 a further six nests were sent over. Dr Amano used the bees to pollinate cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant and paprika with good results.

Climate will restrict introduction of Trigona into the southern states as it is a sub-tropical/tropical bee, and does not adapt to the cold. It can be kept as far south as Bega in NSW, before it starts to suffer.

However, there are others. Bees belonging to the genus Amegilla are among the most common native bees in Australia and occur throughout the mainland.

A research group from the University of Adelaide, led by Katja Hogendoorn, is continuing on from research that looked promising for using the native blue banded bee (Amegilla sp) in commercial greenhouses.

The evidence showed that Amegilla chlorocyanea was a valid alternative to exotic bumblebees for tomato pollination if populations could be sustained under commercial greenhouse conditions.

The current focus of the research is on development of protocols for breeding and management of greenhouse populations. The breeding protocols will allow implementation of these bees as crop pollinators both inside the greenhouse and in the field.
Field observations indicated that these bees were also potential pollinators for several other solanaceous crops, such as eggplant and capsicum or sweet pepper.

Amegilla chlorocyanea are common visitors of watermelon, strawberries, and pumpkin, all crops that could benefit from improved pollination.

Katja believes the use of the bees as greenhouse crop pollinators will have several benefits. There are environmental benefits. The use of a native bee removes the need for introduction of an exotic pollinator, which is likely to cause a proliferation of weeds species which are currently barren due to lack of pollination.

At a cost of $600,000 a year for manual pollination, Flavorite, growers of hydroponic tomato crops, were keen to look at alternatives. They hand pollinate their eight hectares of tomato crops three times a week.
They were stakeholders in the research above using the blue banded bees and experienced a number of problems that they believe needed to be addressed.

Carpenter and blue banded bees are solitary and leave the greenhouse which would mean additional netting over ventilation spaces, leading to a requirement for bigger vents, which would mean an increased cost for greenhouse conversion.

The native bees suffered from a fungus disease similar to honey bees called chalkbrood, that was killing their young.

“The biggest problem is keeping the bees alive and propagating enough numbers for commercial consideration,” said Mark.

They see the introduction of the bumble bee as a viable alternative to hand pollination and are adamant the bees would not escape from the controlled environment in the greenhouses.

It’s a rush against time with scientists trying hard to battle against the introduction of the bumble bee and the hydroponic industry lobbying hard for what they believe is the only solution to their particular needs. The arguments on both sides make sense.

Bandying around complex scientific solutions such as investigating pollen presentation theory doesn’t lend much to the understanding of the future of crop pollination. It is, however, essential that government, scientists and the industry undertake more vital research into crop pollination so that we are not dependent on one specialised pollinator. The future of the agricultural industry demands it. It is also vital that this information is given to growers in a way that will help them prepare and plan for the future.

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About Susan_Kirk

Susan Kirk is a nationally published science writer, with a degree in journalism. She writes extensively for Rural Press publications including Good Fruit and Vegetables and Australian Horticulture. She has TAFE qualifications in horticulture which leads to her interests in crop and horticultural science, with its spinoff to food, organic vs GM. She is a member of the Media Alliance, Queensland Writers Centre, Horticulture Media Association and the Australian Science Communicators. She writes from Kureelpa on the Sunshine Coast hinterland (Australia).