Our multidisciplinary team was funded in Fall 2020 by the USDA to work on this project to improve US blueberry pollination practices. The team includes horticulturalists, entomologists, apiculturalists, plant breeders, economists, and social scientists, and we are advised by a stakeholder advisory board that connects us to agriculture, government agencies, academia, and industry. The project has five main objectives:
- Conduct cost-benefit analyses of different honey bee stocking density and placement strategies to develop recommendations for modern blueberry systems.
- Determine pollination requirements and pollinator attraction across new and existing cultivars.
- Determine how variable weather conditions affect blueberry pollination.
- Develop predictive models of pollination, fruit set, and yield for creation of a Pollination Planner to improve pollination management decisions.
- Deliver information on improved blueberry pollination to the industry.
If you have questions about our research and extension work in blueberry pollination, please contact the project manager Lauren Goldstein at golds153@msu.edu .