WCN Dec e

In the future, growers with traditional orchard varieties surrounded by many self-fertile
orchards with few (or no) colonies per acre may have to compensate by placing more
colonies per acre (photo by Marni Katz.)
Continued from Page 47
the combination of soil health benefits
from multiple cover crop species and
the benefit of early nutrition for bee
colonies. We also asked beekeepers to
indicate the minimum percentage of the
almond orchard that needs to be planted
in the Soil Builder cover crop mix to be
beneficial for their colonies (for reference,
we said that the area between tree
rows typically makes up 50% of each
acre.) 83% of beekeepers who answered
(N=52) said that 50% or less of the
orchard acreage needed to be in the Soil
Builder mix for it to be beneficial and
35% said less than 25% of area needed
to be covered. Over half of beekeepers
thought that the Soil Builder mix would
be beneficial even if the mix does not
cover the entire orchard alleyway, this is
promising for growers who find it logistically
challenging to establish much of
the orchard floor in cover crops.
Back to Your Roots
Using the new Mid-Row Ripper
from Schmeiser
The twin ripper is equipped
with patented vibrating winged
shanks. Soil structure breakout
is unmatched by any
conventional ripper.
“Its the new best
way for planting
orchards and
vineyards, period.”
- John Duarte of
Duarte Nursery
Better Root Zone Management from
1-800-288-8128 • www.tgschmeiser.com
Manage your Root Zone using
the new Mid-Row Ripper.
· 4X Better Soil Breakout
· Water Savings and
Enhanced Drainage
· Superior Mixing of
Amendments in the
Root Zone
Concluding Thoughts
This summer’s drought across much
of the western U.S. may potentially
impact the total number and strength
of colonies available for the upcoming
almond pollination season. We recommend
growers check in with their pollination
provider early and often to make
sure their pollination needs will be met.
In years with high winter losses and
low colony strength, pollination fees
may rise as bloom nears and colony
health and numbers are realized,
increasing the economic incentive for
an unhappy beekeeper to default on
a previously established agreement to
capitalize on higher fees. Maintaining a
good relationship with your beekeeper
can prevent this, whether it’s this year
or in the future. Proactively mitigating
risks to colonies from pesticide
exposure and providing payments in
advance are relatively low-cost options
for improving upon existing agreements
and enhancing the relationship with
your pollination provider. Planting
bee-friendly forage is a more costly (and
initially challenging) practice to implement,
but may be worth it when growers
factor in both benefits to pollinator and
soil health.
References
Bruno, Ellen M., Brittney Goodrich,
and Richard J. Sexton. 2021. The Outlook
for California’s Almond Market.
ARE Update 24(6): 9–11. University of
California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural
Economics. https://giannini.
ucop.edu/filer/file/1629132450/20132/
Goodrich, Brittney and Rachael
Goodhue. 2016. Honey Bee Colony
Strength in the California Almond
Pollination Market. ARE Update 19(4):
5-8. University of California Giannini
Foundation of Agricultural Economics.
https://giannini.ucop.edu/filer/
file/1461278500/17280/
Sáez, A., Aizen, M. A., Medici, S.,
Viel, M., Villalobos, E., & Negri, P. 2020.
Bees increase crop yield in an alleged
pollinator-independent almond variety.
Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-7. https://www.
nature.com/articles/s41598-020-59995-0
Comments about this article? We want
to hear from you. Feel free to email us at
article@jcsmarketinginc.com
48 West Coast Nut December 2021