PLB wrote:
"I don't think you understand the magnitude of the almond industry."
Thanks for the photos. I have only seen ground level pictures before
and, between the trees, the land appears to be a desert with apparently
poor soil/gravel and no flowering plants, just a little grass here and
there. What a missed opportunity! A mixture of the right sort of
flowering plants would provide a long term supply of pollen and nectar,
enabling the growers to keep their own bees or enabling hired colonies
to consume a range of pollen so they are more likely to leave in good
health, meaning that the beekeepers will have lesser subsequent
problems, meaning that there will be fewer losses, meaning that the
almond grower won't have to pay such a high price next year, so it will
pay for itself.
Clovers etc, besides providing bee-forage, also are nitrogen fixers,
thus reducing the grower's need to add fertiliser. Bigger plants, such
as alfalfa, buckwheat etc could add a layer of compost to the soil
which, besides, providing nutrition to bees and almonds, would also
retain surface moisture, reducing the need for irrigation.
Chris
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|