Project Number: 5428-21000-013-34
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: Sep 01, 2012
End Date: Jul 31, 2014

Objective:
1) Evaluate practical use of honey bees together with Osmia lignaria as a strategy for integrated pollination management; 2) Examine effect of the addition of flowering plants besides almond bloom that provides resources for bee nesting on reproduction and abundance of managed and unmanaged bees.

Approach:
1)Orchards will be pollinated with honey bees alone or with honey bees in addition to Osmia lignaria; nut yields from orchards will be used to assess pollination efficacy of the solo or tandem pollinators; also, visual observations will record behaviors interactions between bee species to assess synergistic effects of bees on each other. 2) Early-blooming plants will be grown between rows of almond trees; their use as alternative post-almond bloom forage for bees in orchards will be measured through assessment of managed bee reproduction (using nest dissections and x-rays) and bee abundance (using surveys) in general; above nut and bee yields will be compared to orchards without additional forage.