TECHNICAL
Establishing the right mix of native plants next to orchards offers opportunity to increase beneficial insects such as pollinators, says Brad Howlett
Not just honey bees – the other insects pollinating New Zealand’s apple and pear orchards A lack of insect pollination may not be a problem for New Zealand apple and pear orchards, but our heavy reliance on honey bees to deliver that service is risky. Brad Howlett1, Sam Read1, Jan Grant1, Jess Byrne2, Ken Breen2 While apple and pear trees produce large numbers of flowers which often need thinning to optimise fruit quality, losing our insect pollinators would have serious consequences for yields. New Zealand apple and pear growers are amongst the most dependent on honey bee pollination in the world, with this insect delivering more than 95 percent of the pollination service in most orchards. This reliance on a single pollinator is precarious, as honey bee pests and diseases can appear suddenly and have major impacts on honey bee supply for crop pollination. 58
The ORCHARDIST : JUNE 2022
Fortunately for us, honey bees are not our only capable pollinators. Overseas, a range of insects are known to pollinate apples including bumble bees, native bees and flies. Bumble bees and certain fly species are particularly useful because they pollinate under cool, cloudy conditions when honey bees are not active. These insects can therefore minimise the impact of changeable weather on pollination. Furthermore, certain species can be equally or more efficient pollinators than honey bees, and may be less likely to be drawn away to the flowers of competing weeds and crops.
