Plastic sheets on test plots where alkali bees emerge. |
PROSSER, Wash. – Huge, colorful plastic squares decorating a farm field in the Touchet Valley may look like works by environmental artist Christo, but they’re really part of an experiment to help producers of alfalfa seed realize higher profits.
An alkali bee breaks through the crusty soil in late spring,
ready to pollinate alfalfa. |
The bees typically emerge from their ground nests in late spring as alfalfa blooms and are its primary pollinators. Some years, however, the weather interferes. For example, late spring rains may prompt alfalfa to bloom early while delaying alkali bee emergence.
Not a job for honey bees
For plants to create seeds, the blossoms need to be pollinated. This comes easier to some plants than others.
With alfalfa, the stamen, or pollen-producing part of the flower, is contained in a chamber that must be opened by an insect. When opening the chamber, the insect gets hit on the head by the stamen, which releases a shower of pollen.
While honey bees carry a huge burden of pollinating many commercial crops, they don’t much fancy getting crowned by the dusty stamen of alfalfa. They learn instead to carefully extract nectar without tripping the mechanism that releases pollen.
Fortunately for alfalfa growers and buyers, the native alkali bee, Nomia melanderi, shows great affinity for the crop. In late spring, these bees emerge by the millions from patches of highly alkaline soil, seek out alfalfa and welcome the shower of pollen that fertilizes the flowers and guarantees a strong seed crop.
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Three years of testing has shown that alkali bee emergence can be either sped up or delayed depending on soil surface treatment. White chalk dust and white plastic both reflect sunlight and warmth, which slowed soil warming and delayed bee emergence by a week.
springer.com/article/10.1007/s13592-012-0180-7. For more information on research at the IAREC, see http://bit.ly/wsuprosser.