(UF/IFAS) — Chew on this the next time you eat a blueberry: Every single blueberry is the result of a flower that was pollinated by a bee. In other words: no buzz, no berry. With that in mind, it’s no wonder blueberry growers bring in hives of honey bees or bumble bees when their blueberry bushes are in flower. “We …
Agri View: Winter Storm Losses
Everett Griner talks about losses suffered by producers during the last winter storm in today’s Agri View. Let me see if I can put this in more realistic terms for you to understand. Say you make so much money per month. You work 12 months. You add up your total salary for the year. Not bad! But …
Agri View: Spring Crop Damage
Everett Griner talks about spring brings more bad weather, and damage, to the fruit crops in today’s Agri View. Spring is always a welcomed time of year for everybody. But the final days of winter were another costly period for farmers. Especially in the southeast. One of the coldest nights came on March 16th. Just a few days …
Bumblebees Boost Blueberry Yield
by Brad Buck, University of Florida/IFAS Bumblebees can boost blueberry yield by 70 percent, good news for Florida growers in the heart of their blueberry season, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences study shows. The news also accentuates the need for blueberry pollinators, said Joshua Campbell, a post-doctoral researcher in the UF/IFAS entomology and nematology department. …