Market Farming

["Bill Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT inil.com>]

>Hello,
>     I'm not sure it is accurate to say crop spraying has nothing to do
>with the  susceptibility of bee populations to the mites. A more holistic
>point of view looks at the overall ecological impacts of pesticides,
>GMO's, and other agro-biocides that have been let loose in the
>environment. Bees, in their role of crop pollinators, may well be the
>Number One "non-targeted species" and after all, over 90% (!!) of applied
>pesticides miss their targets entirely.

There is no way you can justify that statement. By far, the greatest volume
and geographic application of pesticides is the application of herbicides.
Though drift is a serious problem, and one I fight continually in my area,
it would be grossly inaccurate to say that 90% of applied herbicides miss
their target entirely. The economics of that kind of efficiency would put
the practice on the shelf. Other pesticides (insecticides included) are also
targeted carefully by applicators for the same reason. Frankly, most feral
bees do not (or did not) live in an area where they were likely to come into
contact with a threatening pesticide.


>When you consider the research
>showing that bees pick up Sevin in pollen, for example, and bring it back
>to the hive where it can kill colonies outright, then it follows that the
>state of overall health for pollinators has been severely impacted,
>making them susceptible to the mites. Under this view, pests (the mites)
>are a symptom, not the cause.


Under that view, you are mistaken. Bees can pick up sevin in pollen and
carry it to the hive. This is particularly a problem when wettable powder
forms of sevin are used rather than liquids. But it does not happen often.
Most growers who spray sevin know that it will kill bees. They also know
that bees have a critical economic impact on the crop they are raising by
improving pollination, which leads to greater yield and quality of the crops
they are raising, whether it's cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, apples, pears,
peaches, blueberries, etc. Few use sevin during pollination because it
simply isn't necessary and because they realize the threat to the bees. Both
domesticated and feral bees need the protection and growers know it.

When I said estimates of bee losses from mites were up to 95%, my sources
were apiculturists who understand the pesticide problems for bees as well as
the impact of the varroa and tracheal mites. They contend that the losses of
feral bees are that high due to mites, not pesticides. Mites are the cause
of decline and death of the hives, not the symptom.

Bill Shoemaker
Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
Univ of Illinois - St Charles Hort Research Center



>Steve Gilman
>Ruckytucks farm
>
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>