Subject: ORCHARD FLOOR MANAGEMENT

From: [email-masked] (Pollinator)
Date: 7 Jun 1995 02:43:24 -0400

Increase risks for misusers, reduce them for bees.

    Many orchardist forget their beekeeper after pollination is
accomplished
- until he is needed again the following spring.  Meanwhile, he may be
fighting for survival from one pesticide hit after another, often these
are
caused by his neighbors, the fruit growers, who most need him, although
misuse on other crops, and mosquito and gypsy moth programs that ignore
label
directions can also cause hits.  

    Good orchard floor management is crucial to maintenance of pollinator
populations.  In apple orchards the most hazardous time of the year for
bees
is now approaching, with clover beginning to bloom in southern locations,
and
not far off in northern ones.

    Broad spectrum insecticide applications on blooming clover and other
weeds attractive to bees in orchard floors have been a major factor in bee
losses, making beekeeping unprofitable, and driving some beekeepers out of
business.  It has also decimated some wild non-Apis pollinator
populations.

   Poor honey markets of the past few years have temporarily helped
orchardists, because many beekeepers have turned to pollination to
supplement
or even provide a majority of their income.  But they cannot survive, if
they
cannot keep the bees alive.  Each year there are fewer and fewer bees
available.

   Mites and other factors have also reduced the supply.  However, each
problem that faces the beekeeper today can be met by becoming a better
beekeeper or better businessman, EXCEPT the problem of pesticide MISuse,
which is in the hands of the pesticide applicators, those who advise them,
and those who enforce pesticide laws.

    A South Carolina peach orchard has already provided a $1500 hit on a
local beekeeper. An official investigation is not yet done but the
probable
cause is Penncap M (trademark), applied in violation of label directions
on a
lush mustard bloom on the orchard floor. I also observed a suspected
violation of this type.

    It is crucial that fruit growers take a hard look at the orchard floor
prior to insecticide applications to see if there is any clover, mustard,
wild mints, or other blooming weed that is attractive to bees.  In some
cases
a temporary removal of bloom immediately prior to application by mowing is
possible.  It is however a long term problem, and herbicide control of
these
bee-attractive plants is the only long term solution.

   If the material is hazardous to bees, the label will so state under
Environmental Hazards, and prohibit application while bees are foraging.
Some
non-residual materials (look at the label directions to see if the only
reference is to toxicicty by direct contact) could be legally and safely
used
during the hours bees are not foraging.  Some kind of monitoring would be
necessary to identify a safe and legal time for the application. Other
materials have residual effects (again look at the directions) and since
bees
will forage within the residual life of the pesticide, bloom removal is
required for compliance.

   Beekeepers are becoming aware of the legal protection given to the
foraging bee (yes, she has the legal right-of-way, if the label says so)
and
are becoming more active to seek enforcement.  Some, like myself, who have
been afraid of repercussions, in the past have seen that the business is
now
impossible anyway with the current level of losses, so have decided to
report
ALL violations and bee kills.

   Last year a New York beekeeper settled out of court for an undisclosed
sum
>from  an applicator who was under threat of a citation and possible
certification loss for violations on blooming sweet corn, and other
vegetables.
 
    Some volunteer beekeepers will be organizing beekeepers' neighborhood
watches to monitor pesticide applications to see if they comply with label
directions that protect bees.

The optimist sees things as he wishes them to be.  He lives in a rosy
dream
world.
The pessimist sees things as he fears.  He's as sour as a year-old pickle.
The realist sees things as they are.  He rejoices in the good, and combats
the evil.

[email-masked]                                   Dave Green
Dave's Pollination Service         Eastern Pollinator Newsletter
PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC    29554