I think I can interpret a bit here, as apples are the only crop I
pollinated.

The study data is confusing, because the claims of the growers were taken as
true, when samples should have been taken to determine what had actually
been sprayed.  

The following is not exaggerated even one tiny little bit:

1)  Apple growers get out the spray rig for everything, even when their kids
misbehave.

2)  Apple nectar and pollen is such a poor food source, and the weather so
poor during bloom, the unwary beekeeper can have hives starve while
pollinating.

3)  Apple growers who do not cut their understory will find all the bees on
the understory.  The grower will blame you.  The understory is where the
pesticide residues are highest.  Connect the dots.

4) Apples are grown most often in the East on terrain too steep for any
other purpose.  Surprisingly, the few relatively level areas will invariably
be saturated to the point that wheeled vehicles will become stuck in the
mud.  Entire pallets can become embedded in this mud to the point that
removal is difficult.

5)  Apple growers do not understand that bees fly.  They want all hives
singly and evenly placed throughout the orchard.  Palletized hives will be
viewed as an act of laziness by the beekeeper.  

6)  The moment the king bloom is set, apple growers want the bees out, so
they can "thin" the bloom, often with Carbaryl ("Sevin") a highly bee-toxic
pesticide.  I have caught apple growers spraying the same day they called me
to tell me to move the bees.  Crossed them off my list of clients there and
then.

7)  An eastern fruit grower who says he did not spray this or that is more
likely a liar than not.  See (1).

8)  Eastern Apple growers hire guys who speak and read no English to handle
pesticides with label instructions in English.  Again, connect the dots.

9) Trusting an apple grower any further than one can comfortably spit a rat
is a mistake.

10) Getting paid by apple growers was so difficult, I changed my business
model to payment of a percentage of the crop, when sold.  This means that I
was financing the pollination cost for the entire season, but growers are
less likely to play games with you or haggle when they are flush with cash
than when they are at maximum debt load, and taking a percentage of the crop
eliminated any attempts to claim that less money was due because the hives
were weak.  Sharing a goal with your customer is a good thing.

In defense of the apple growers, there is perhaps no other crop where so
much is expected in terms of "perfect" fruit.  The way the business works,
the apple you buy at the store today is likely over a year old.  It is not
from last fall's crop, it is from the PRIOR falls' crop.  The apples have to
be so perfect, they remain perfect even after a year's storage.  Any blemish
means that the consumer won't buy that apple, so the pressure to make a
"fantasy fruit" is high.  More and more stores are now selling "food porn",
where the fantasy fruit is arranged in geometric vertical stacks to
emphasize the regularity of shape and size, so even a slightly larger or
smaller fruit is unacceptable.  No wonder they spray so much poison!

Ag extension reps for tree fruits are essentially pesticide specialists.
Even "organic" orchards spray poison, they merely spray very old poisons
that are classified as "elemental" or "natural in origin" at application
rates much higher than modern types, like the systemics.

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