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NEWS RELEASE
Can Bumble Bees Fill Pollination Void?
MADISON, WI, OCTOBER 26, 2009 -- A recent study at Oregon State University has shown that native bumble bee species have consistently high pollination and seed production levels in red clover. The findings, which will be published in the November/December 2009 issue of Crop Science, offer promise for the use of bumble bee crop pollinators as an alternative to European honey bees, whose populations have recently declined in many areas of the United States.
Red clover, which is grown for forage and as a rotation crop to improve soil, is raised for seed in western Oregon's Willamette Valley. It will not produce seed without pollination, so growers typically place two to five European honey bee hives on each hectare. However, bee diseases, mites, and colony collapse disorder have recently limited availability and resulted in higher costs for hive rentals. Given these changes, an alternative pollinator for red clover seed crops is needed. Worldwide there are over 200 species of bumble bees; some of whom are known to pollinate red clover. While commercially reared bumble bee species are available to growers elsewhere, they are considered exotic species in Oregon and cannot be introduced into the state. This leaves Oregon growers dependent on naturally occurring populations of bumble bees as pollinators. However, there is currently no information on the pollination efficiency of native bumble bee species.
Crop Scienceis the flagship journal of the Crop Science Society of America. It is a top international journal in the fields of crop breeding and genetics, crop physiology, and crop production. The journal is a critical outlet for articles describing plant germplasm collections and their use.