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Most crops are heavily dependant on bees for pollination. Without pollination there is no fruit or seed development; therefore no yield. Cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, corn, West Indian Cherry, guavas, citrus, mangoes, beans, carambola, coconuts and many other crops need bees to produce.
The practice of placing hives next to fields of producing crops is gaining acceptance among farmers as a management tool to increase yield. Hives can be found next to fields of melons in Pearls and Pointzfield and close to orchards in Celeste and Corinth. Bees are known to travel up to 3 miles to find flowering plants. A pheromone called Bee scent can be sprayed over crops of the melon family, cucurbits, to attract bees. This product is sold by Renwick and Thompson and is easy and economical to use.
Farmers who integrate bees into their operations need to know how to adjust pesticides. Otherwise they will kill the bees.
Pesticides, materials used to control insects, weeds and plant diseases are toxic to bees. Pesticides are placed into three groups based on their effect on bees, highly toxic, moderately toxic and relatively non-toxic. The following table gives some idea how commonly used pesticides are classified.
| HIGHLY TOXIC |
MODERATELY TOXIC |
RELAYIVELY NON-TOXIC |
Ambush
Avermectin
Baygon
Baytex
Decis
Malathion
Parathion
Sevin
Nermacur
Tamaron
Folithion
Furadan |
Metasystox
Vydate
Mocap |
Dipel
Kelthane
Nicotine
Sabadilla
Toxaphene
Benlate
Bravo
Captan
Dithane
Treflan
Lasso
Gramocil |
Ground application is better that air. Sprays are safer than dust. Emulsifiable concentrates are less toxic than wettable powders and granules are the least hazardous. Cucurbits close their flowers in the afternoon and therefore bees only visit them in the morning. It is therefore safer to spray in the afternoon. If highly toxic pesticides musts be used then the hives must be removed from the area.
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