Hello Brian & All,
 Brian asks:
>However can you comment on the new and unfolding concerns about
>interactions with other common ag chemicals that may be sprayed on various
>crops simultaneously with Spirotetramat?  This seems like an area that will
>be receiving more scrutiny in the future.

Brian you and I run orchards> I do pollination and attend growers
conventions and meetings. I do the largest apple orchard in my state.

We both know the methods growers of all the crops listed do. Fungicides are
the sprays to produce those perfect looking fruits. At times fungicides are
sprayed at several days intervals. Rain and then warm weather plus sun
forces the issue on apples.

Nova will work if the spray is used too late but captan works best when the
correct timing is used. Captan has been suspect for years. Not dead hives
but brood issues etc.
I use the above fungicides myself in my orchard ( last spring at several day
intervals) and let my grower use as I understand his dilemma. Early in the
beekeeping season so with pollen patties etc. the bees will bounce back.


Dave Fisher mentions registration for Spirotetramet for melons. Right NOW I
will not move bees into melons or pumpkins using neonicotinonds. Gene Brandi
has said he feels the same way. Growers are begging for bees. Eventually all
beekeepers pollinating neonicotinoid treated melons will get burned and
stop. Registering a bloom spray to be used also when beekeepers are already
seeing problems does not have the beekeepers best interest at heart.

I am cold when I get the calls from growers. Yes I can supply the hives but
I will not at any price if you use certain products.

I do not believe Randy understood Brian's question. We are NOT talking about
two pesticides but as knowledgeable growers the practice of adding a
fungicide to every spray trip is very common.

I realize from past BEE-L posts Brian uses a low spray program ( as I try to
do) but  I do the largest apple orchard in Missouri and they spray three
fungicides at the same time. Using apples as an example because the crop
Brian and I are the most familiar with.
Here is a common fungicide schedule for fungicide. One spray before bloom
and up to three while the blooms are opening. If you wait till full open too
late at times so many apple growers use three sprays intervals as blooms
open.Pink tip etc.


The large grower I pollinate  realizes his whole crop depends  on my bees. 
He
shares exactly what sprays he uses with me. *If* not he will not get bees .
He prefers hives fresh from the almonds in California. These hives are
boiling with bees. One year we had 18 swarms hanging in trees in the holding
yard the next day after arrival. We try to pull some brood and bees to knock
these hives back to prevent swarming in apples but at times the hives have
been unloaded directly off a semi from California into apples.

My point is that some brood kill is not a big deal with such strong hives at
that time of year.

Hives need feeding while on pumpkins and melons and even in the old days (
before the neonics) hives went down hill while in both crops. Brood damage
at that time of year effects winter survival etc.

Bees are the key to profitable crops of melons & pumpkins. A pumpkin grower
this fall went on TV telling the people this year was a bad year for
pumpkins and so he was going to have to import out of state pumpkins.
If you want pumpkins you rent the correct number of strong hives.

The growers I pollinated (organic) had record pumpkin production and the
largest pumpkin this year at the Missouri state fair.

In my opinion Bayer understands the above and offers no solution so in my 
opinion adding new bloom sprays only makes the situation worse.

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Missouri

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