Randy;

I am just finishing up alcohol washes and shaking out dwindlers to freeze
and combine with this year's splits so I find the discussion on splits
compelling.  Pete, I used to advise plasticulture strawberry growers in NC
when they were transitioning from perennial strawberry culture to annual
plasticulture and you are spot-on:  the strawberry growers all converted to
the annual system because they were able to break the disease and weed
cycles by totally destroying the previous year's crop in July and starting
again in late September.  However, the strawberry growers are still having
disease problems in the nurseries where the new plants are grown.

Randy, I am just about certain my 'dwindlers' are a combination of
overwintered hives and big honey producers that have burned out on the
honey flow.  I already know I am replacing probably half my hives every
year via nucs but now am pondering how to split everything and not increase
my hive numbers, thus 'box management'?  Do you think a splitting program
and then recombination in the fall is a good way to go?  I requeen with
cells and like it as it lengthens the brood break and I control the whole
process.

I friend of mine is growing strawberry plugs (3 million this fall) and he
asked me to look in his greenhouse Saturday.  He has a pithium outbreak
starting causing damping off in one particular variety.  His
phytosanitation practices were less than ideal, and though I am 30 years
out from plant pathology course work, I remember sanitation is crucial in a
greenhouse.  I often wonder about the lack of discussion on beekeeping
sanitation best practices.  We freely move bees all over the country and
ship bees as well.  No wonder we have disease problems.  It is a trade-off
but no mystery as to why we have so many problems.  Just look at what is
being done to try to stop the Ebola virus.  Maybe we could learn from that
too....

Bill Lord
beekeeping consulting for development.com

             ***********************************************
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