According to a study carried out by Edgar Arias, a Master of Agricultural Sciences at the National University, the pollination with Apis mellifera bees increases the production by 96% in crops that require entomophilic pollination, which consists in the transfer of pollen by means of insects to ensure fertilization.
Arias travelled to Fresno, Tolima, to analyze the market for pollination with bees in avocado crops. This region has avocado crops of the Santana, Choquette, Lorraine, Semil, and Hass varieties. The latter gained relevance after its entry to the US market last year.
To analyze the potential market, the researcher worked with a sample of 54 farmers, out of the 215 producers in the region, and 6 beekeepers. According to his findings, 38% of the farmers would be willing to use beehives of this species, and 35% consider it probable, which shows that 73% of respondents would be willing to pollinate with Apis mellifera bees.
The rental cost of each hive would be $ 75,000 and the sale of one of these would amount to $300,000.
However, Arias said, there are still barriers that prevent the development of this market, such as the intensive and inadequate use of insecticides and pesticides, and the lack of culture for this service.
He also said that this practice required special management and comprehensive technical advice in pollination with this species, which is already applied in citrus, blackberry, strawberry, and melon crops.
In 2017, there were 71,459 hectares planted with avocado trees and production totaled 396,002 tons.
Source: larepublica.co