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