JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2015
Almond Facts 41
and pesticide applicators. Highlights of
the communication chain focus on setting
specifc, detailed agreements with each
party including expectations to be discussed
prior to almond bloom, placement of
colonies and inspections. Registering hives,
requesting optional notifcations from
the County Agricultural Commissioner,
and reporting pesticide applications and
incidents are all part of the checklist.
The BMP Guide provides a graphic
representation of the distribution of hives
in an orchard for uniform bee activity
within an orchard. To assist in colony
strength evaluations, an online course is
suggested, as are several hints a grower can
use to determine just how well pollination is
progressing.
Following communication, another key area
of the BMP Guide focuses on protecting
honey bees at bloom. When almonds are
in bloom, the balance between protecting
the honey bees from potentially harmful
pest control materials and protecting
crops from pests and diseases must be
maintained. While often not resulting
in a direct kill to honey bees, daytime
applications of fungicides just might keep
bees from working your fowers for a day
or so and are known to impact developing
brood, resulting in decreased emergence
of replacement bees. Though not a
label violation at this time, tank mixing
insecticides with fungicides can be deadly
to bees and also to developing larvae. In
addition, some combinations of fungicides
and insecticides result in a spray more toxic
to honey bees than either compound alone
via synergism of the chemistries.
Protect honey bees during bloom by:
• Avoiding pesticides whose labels contain
the cautions “toxic to bees” or “extended
residual toxic ity”
• Avoiding tank mixing insecticides with
fungicides
THE COMMUNICATION CHAIN
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• Avoiding application of any pesticide during bloom
• Applying fungicides in the late afternoon, evening or at night when bees and
pollen are not present
• Removing or covering water sources during spraying, or providing clean water
sources for bees after completion of spraying
• Keeping sprays from coming in direct contact with hives
Proper timing of bee removal from orchards is also important in protecting
honey bee health.
The guidelines suggest removal of the honey bees “when 90 percent of the
fowers on the latest-blooming variety are at petal fall.” After this point in
time, fertilization of the fower is not taking place, bee activity in the orchard
diminishes and remaining bee fights are concentrating mainly on nectar
The Almond Board has
published a comprehensive
BMP Guide.
The
communication
chain is vital to
ensuring honey
bees stay healthy
in your orchard.
Continued on next page »