Pollination

Science programme: Optimising fruit & crop growth

Our honey bee research team has wide experience in pollination research and education including:

Insect pollination of crops

• Pollination deposition studies
• Honey bee behaviour, flower visiting behaviour, movement between flowers, flower recognition and attractiveness
• Honey bee colony management, hive strengths, placement, pollen trapping, sugar syrup and pollen feeding
• Behaviour of bumble bees and solitary bees
• Bee attractants
• Levels of cross pollination.

Artificial pollination

• Design of devices for collecting and applying pollen, usage patterns, pollen deposition, testing efficacies.

Assessing pollination

• Fruit weights, seed counts, pollinator assessments.

Polliniser assessments

• Measuring effects of polliniser distributions and densities.

Training

• The team has presented a large number of seminars, workshops, scientific and technical articles and manuals.  We have provided training sessions for growers and beekeepers providing pollination services within New Zealand and in a number of other countries.