ALMOND POLLEN NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 2006


Pollen Application Machine

With almond bloom about to happen very soon this is a good time to review some principles about the use of supplemental pollen.

1 - California Ag Supply recommends 40 to 60 grams of almond pollen per acre.

2 - We recommend when applying the pollen via the application machine mixing the pollen with the carrier at a ratio of 3 grams of carrier to 1 gram of pollen.    You can use less or more of a ratio depending upon the ground speed you will be traveling.

Strategies for using supplemental almond pollen for best advantage:

Situation: You have weak beehives and the varieties bloom 100% in synchrony in perfect weather

Solution: Apply pollen 2 to 3 times using the mechanical applicator. Apply pollen at 33%, 75% and 100% full bloom.


Know how strong your beehives are.

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Situation: You have strong beehives and the varieties bloom 100% in synchrony in perfect weather

Solution: Let the bees work.

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Situation: You have strong beehives but the bloom is not synchronized and the weather is good (lots of bee flying hours).

Solution: Use hive inserts to feed pollen to the bees during period when the bloom is not synchronous.


Example of a non synchronous bloom.
Note one row is in full bloom and the other has not started blooming yet.

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Situation: You have strong beehives and the bloom is synchronized but the weather is mostly poor (limited bee flying hours).

Solution: Use the pollen machine to supplement the less amount of time the bees will have to fly.

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Remember:

1 - Bees work only when the temperature is above 57F and only about 4 hours per day at best (11 am to 3 pm). If it is raining and/or windy the bees do not work.
2 - Bees inadvertently pollinate the almonds. If there are not two different varieties  blooming in synchrony then the pollination process will not proceed.
3 - Only 1 pollen grain from a different variety is needed to set a nut.   But additional pollen (even from the same variety) will provide stimulus for that 1 pollen grain to reach the ovule.
4 -

The number of almond flowers per acre is about 2 million.

The number of flowers needed to get a yield of 3,000 lbs per acre is about 1 million.
The number of pollen grains per acre is about 50,000.
5 - The pollen grain will germinate and grow only when it is warm enough for the bees to fly.   If it is too cold for the bees to fly do not apply pollen via the application machine as it is too cold for the pollen grains to grow.

Please contact us at info@californiaagsupply.com

California Ag Supply
968 Sierra Street # 128
Kingsburg, California 93631

Tel/FAX: 559-221-7954
EMail: info@californiaagsupply.com

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