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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
randy oliver <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:30:21 -0700
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>> we are indeed at risk in agriculture when we rely wholly
>> on any single species of crop or pollinator
>
> I think Bill Truesdell pointed out this is the way farming has
> been conducted in the USA for decades and yet yields
> per acre of practically all crops have been steadily
> increasing.

Thank you, Paul.  I don't dispute your point about yields at all.  However, 
history shows us the risk of putting all our eggs into one biological 
basket.

The Irish potato famine was due to the planting of only one cultivar (the 
Lumpkin) of potato, which turned out to be exceptionally susceptible to 
phytophera.  If the Irish had planted only three or four cultivars, the 
famine likely would not have occurred.  Ditto with the total crash of the 
world's entire banana crop when the Gros Michael variety was hit by a virus, 
and the Green Indian coconut when it was hit by something or another, and 
all the coconut trees planted in the Caribbean died suddenly.

The almond growers are feeling the same about being totally dependent upon 
honeybees for pollinating their crop.  If this one species of pollinator 
crashes, as it did a couple of years ago, their production costs suddenly 
skyrocket without warning; or even worse, their crop could fail, since they 
didn't have any alternatives available.

Massive monoculture can be extremely efficient.  By the same token, it can 
crash in a big way without warning.  Kinda similar to putting all your 
investments into only one stock.  Diversification of your portfolio spreads 
the risks.  Diversity in  biological systems, including agriculture, lends 
more stability to the system.

Randy Oliver 

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