Pollination
STRENGTHENING BEE TIES
The almond industry’ s reliance on bees has been well chronicled since the arrival of varroa mite in NSW midway through 2022. The impact of the restricted hive movements on production had a huge impact on yield in 2022-23, but a systematic approach to beehive movement during the following two pollination seasons ensured full stocking rates across the industry. The ongoing challenge as varroa takes hold will be the costs of engaging enough hives to pollinate orchards effectively. The varroa incursion has highlighted the diminished consumer awareness around the role bees play in food production. Almond blossoms provide one of the first natural sources of food for bees each spring and healthy hives arriving at orchards continue to strengthen during their stay. The almond industry uses almost 300,000 hives during the pollination season with this number rising as young trees mature. It is the largest annual stock movement in Australian agriculture and involves hives from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Hives begin to arrive at the almond orchards just before the trees begin to blossom in July and continue to enter as flower numbers in the orchards increase.
Whilst the bees move from tree to tree, they cross pollinate blossoms with pollen from other varieties. In almonds, nuts will only develop when a flower has been correctly pollinated, so the bees are highly valued and are treated with care. Hives are placed in open spaces to allow the sun to warm the bees, water is distributed throughout the orchard and growers are now planting flowering cover crops between trees to give the bees a more diverse diet.
Pollination has become one of the key costs of production and it has increased significantly over the past 20 years. This has provided beekeepers with a viable alternate revenue source when honey prices are depressed. As varroa continues to impact hive health and decimate feral European bee colonies it is expected that the demand for commercial hives for pollination of a range of crops will increase exponentially and drive growers to commit to self-fertile varieties to minimise their risks and pollination costs.
Hives arriving on almond orchards benefit from the almond blossoms that are an excellent source of nutrients for bees. After almond bloom many beekeepers split the hives to increase their hive numbers. After almonds, beekeepers move their bees to pollinate other crops or to produce honey. It is estimated that almond pollination is now worth more than $ 60 million to Australian commercial beekeepers.
HIGH HEALTH BUDWOOD PROGRAM
38.7 %
of almonds are bee friendly farm certified
Using virus free budwood is the cornerstone of the Australian almond industry expansion over the past 20 years.
The intent of the Almond Board of Australia’ s budwood program is to maximise the integrity of virus free material collected to propagate the trees grown by commercial nurseries. The security this provides growers and nurseries provides a unique safeguard for the industry.
The ABA operates two budwood sites in South Australia. Trees at the sites are independently tested annually to ensure they are free of virus before harvesting begins. This testing is extensive and costly, but critical to the long term, health of orchards. Growers are always encouraged to ensure the trees purchased have been propagated from virus free tested budwood.
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