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Pollination

Honeybee Pollination on PEI

Lowbush Blueberries

Buddhist Nuns of PEI – Hand picking wild blueberries.

One of the main revenues of beekeepers on PEI is offering pollination services to food crops that require honeybee pollination such as apples, squash, cranberry and blueberries.  The main fruit crop that requires pollination is low bush blueberries.  Each year, honeybee hives that have survived the winter will go into “pollination” from the last week in May to the end of June.  During this period, beekeepers will transport their hives into blueberry fields to pollinate the surrounding area.  The benefit blueberry and fruit crop growers see from honeybee pollination is frequent visits from bees on each bloom which will ensure pollination, larger fruit and a higher yield.

The Government of PEI has incentives for beekeepers to expand their operations to provide more hives during pollination season.  It is a huge concern for all stakeholders to have enough hives locally to support the growing industries.  It is our goal as the PEI Beekeepers Association to help increase the hive counts locally to limit and to eventually exclude all importation of hives to PEI.  This will ensure sustainability, stability and increased confidence to know that Small Hive Beetle (SHB) is kept out of PEI with the risk each year of importing hives from Ontario which carry the risk of importing a pest that PEI does not have.  As of 2020, PEI was able to provide approximately 5400 local beehives and needed to import just over 5,000 from Ontario.  Each year we are building our hive count to 100% sustainability.  Learn more about the Pollination Expansion Program and maybe you can become part of the solution to provide more hives on PEI.  If you have any questions about Pollination on PEI, we urge you to contact us and we can help answer any questions you may have.

Do you have beehives to rent? OR…. Are you a grower that needs beehives?

Whether you are a fruit crop grower who needs hives or if you are a beekeeper who has hives to rent – please contact us.  We can do our best to make sure we connect you with the right people.

Members of the PEIBA will be given a list of any interested grower looking to rent hives.  If you are not a current member of the PEIBA, please join us today!  With membership comes benefits 🙂

 

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