Horn-faced bees vs. indigenous pollinators in blueberries

View the project final report

Commodities

• Fruits: berries (other)
• Animals: bees

Practices

• Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns
• Production Systems: general crop production
• Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures

Small-acreage blueberry producers rely on wild or indigenous pollinators for blueberry pollination, while larger growers often lease honey bees for pollination. Yet honeybees are not effective pollinators of blueberries, and this project will investigate the use of horn-faced bees for pollination. A series of field experiments will compare the rate of pollination and the size of berries produced by plants pollinated by wild pollinators and those pollinated by wild pollinators and horn-faced bees. Outreach will be through presentations and newsletters.