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<p class=MsoNormal>From: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Farm and Dairy – The Auction Guide and Rural
Marketplace<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a
href="http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/project-to-impact-native-pollinators/16090.html">http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/project-to-impact-native-pollinators/16090.html</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Tuesday, October 12, 2010<o:p></o:p></p>
<h2 id=pageTitle>Project to impact native pollinators<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal>by <span class=articlebylineauthor>Other News</span> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Fruits and nuts are high value crops in the
Mid-Atlantic states worth over $300 million and are being heavily impacted by
honey bee shortages for pollination.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>A new $1.4 million grant from the USDA NIFA <a
href="http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/specialtycropresearchinitiative.cfm">Specialty
Crops Research Initiative</a> program to Penn State will look into future
impacts on fruit pollination and the development of alternative pollinators to
supplement honey bees.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h3>Concern<o:p></o:p></h3>
<p>According to <a href="http://ento.psu.edu/directory/djb134">David Biddinger</a>,
tree fruit entomologist and biocontrol specialist at Penn State’s <a
href="http://frec.cas.psu.edu/">Fruit Research and Extension Center</a> and
project co-director, the situation is becoming critical.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>“We already know the supply of honey bees in the U.S. will not be able
to meet the demand for pollination services in the near future,” he
explained.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>“We also know that the production costs for apiculturists will go up,
and that the cost to fruit growers to rent honey bee hives for pollination has
increased three-fold since 2006 and will continue to increase. Alternative
pollinators such as native wild bees are greatly needed.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The new project will establish surveys and a monitoring program to identify
the importance of wild pollinators to agricultural pollination, assess bee
species collected during survey work to determine if any pathogen or other
invasive species has infected the population, develop new pollinators and
enhance pollinator awareness through education efforts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h3>Role<o:p></o:p></h3>
<p>According to Biddinger, native bees play an important role in the
pollination of fruits and vegetable crops in the Mid-Atlantic region and have
probably been underestimated.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>“In a recent study, almost 50 species of native bees were shown to be
key crop pollinators of several vegetable crops and were fully able to
pollinate some of these crops without aid of honey bees on the majority of the
Pennsylvania and New Jersey farms evaluated.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>In addition, a two-year survey of 12 Pennsylvania apple orchards conducted
by Biddinger found more than 120 species of bees. He found that while honey bee
numbers had decreased by ten-fold since 1997, wild bee numbers had increased an
average of three to five-fold.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>“Native bee pollination hasn’t really been studied in the
Mid-Atlantic, so we don’t know what bee species are here and what fauna
we have to conserve. This will be one of the first steps in the project,”
Biddinger said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h3>Additionally<o:p></o:p></h3>
<p>Project investigators also plan on examining threats to native pollinators,
such as viruses that have affected honey bee populations and pesticides. The
project will also examine the management of key species of wild bees for use in
agriculture.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>“We have fresh market apple growers who have relied upon native
pollinators for fruit pollination for over ten years without noticeable loss in
yield or quality, but we need to verify this through measurement of yield,
fruit set, fruit size and fruit quality in comparison to orchards using
recommended rates of honey bees for pollination,” Biddinger explained.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Native bee populations can vary widely from season to season, so these
measurements need to be repeated over several seasons to determine reliability.
Native bees, including bumble bees, greatly rely on adjacent woodlots and
fencerows for nesting sites and supplemental food after apple bloom.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Most native bees don’t fly nearly as far as honey bees, so determining
the foraging ranges of key bee species will be important in providing reliable
pollination of crops.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h3>Standards<o:p></o:p></h3>
<p>Guidelines for pollinator-friendly land practices will also be developed,
including land management practices that avoid harming bees, how to provide
habitat for native bees on and around the farm, and guidelines for pesticide
use to preserve wild bee populations.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>According to project co-director Ed Rajotte, professor of entomology at Penn
State and IPM coordinator, an ecological approach to managing pests in
agricultural crops is known as integrated pest management.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h3>Details<o:p></o:p></h3>
<p>IPM involves compiling detailed and timely information about a crop and its
pests to ensure that pest management decisions are economically,
environmentally, and socially sound.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>In practice, it involves using several control tactics based on knowledge of
the crop, weather conditions, pests and associated natural enemies to avoid
crop losses and to minimize harmful effects on the environment and non-target
organisms such as bees.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Applying the principles of IPM to conserve native bees for sustainable
pollination is something new for most regions of the US. Another goal of the
project is to increase the awareness of wild bee pollinators by the public and
the agricultural community.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>“What we learn from pollinator restoration demonstrations, the
information assembled from past research on native bee habitat and crop
pollination, and our years of experience working on pollinator conservation in
agricultural landscapes will be presented to farmers/land mangers in a
practical way they can use to conserve pollinators on their lands,”
Biddinger explained.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>“We will conduct workshops, farm walks, and seminars to farmers and
staff from farm-related agencies and develop audience-specific educational
materials.” <o:p></o:p></p>
<h3>Partners<o:p></o:p></h3>
<p>Other collaborators on the project include researchers from Penn State, the <a
href="http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pennsylvania_department_of_agriculture/10297">Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture</a>, the <a href="http://www.xerces.org/">Xerces
Society</a>, <a href="http://www.liunet.edu/">Long Island University,</a> the
US Department of Agriculture NRCS and the US Department of the Interior.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>For more information on bees and other pollinators, visit Penn State’s
Center for Pollinator Research at http://ento.psu.edu/pollinators.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania
State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at
promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and urban settings.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>For more information, contact the program at 814-865-2839 or visit
www.paipm.org. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>_____________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>A
nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>the
conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Matthew
Shepherd<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Senior
Conservation Associate<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>mdshepherd@xerces.org<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>4828
SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Tel:
503-232 6639<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Fax:
503-233 6794<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>www.xerces.org<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>_____________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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