For the love of Honey Becoming a Beekeeper wasn't something I dreamed about my whole life. Beekeeping was never on my radar. When a friend suggested I consider beekeeping, I don't remember jumping up and down and being thrilled. One thing drove ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension
Honey bee pollination increases fruit set and yields in many fruit, but not all. Blueberries are supposed to respond to increased pollinator activity with greater yields. Some fruit growers routinely bring in bee hives to increase pollination, ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, HorticultureTo Bee or not to Bee Everyone is worried about the bees. Since colony collapse started being recognized as in issue in the 2007, the word is out that bees may be in trouble. Yet, and maybe because of, there are more beekeepers than ever. ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, HorticultureWhen starting a vegetable garden or even orchard, you may wonder if you need two or more plants of a certain variety to cross-pollinate each other or if you can get away with just one. This will depend on if you have a monoecious or dioecious ... READ MORE
Category: Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Squash plants produce plenty of flowers but the fruit grows an inch or two and then dies. It looks like blossom end rot but is probably lack of pollination. Squash and related plants including melons and cucumbers have both male and female ... READ MORE
Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home LandscapesIt won’t be long until row crops and vegetable gardens are planted and thriving once again next spring. A sometimes taken for granted, yet critical element of any prosperous crop is successful pollination. Most of us know what “text book” ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, HorticultureBe a part of the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge and help save bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators responsible for one out of three bites of food we take. Pollinator populations have plummeted in recent years, for a variety ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Wildlife
Honey bees are quite the buzz these days. Reports of population declines and the importance of their role in pollination have caught the country’s attention. The Northwest District IFAS Beekeepers’ classes have grown by leaps and bounds ... READ MORE
Category: Natural ResourcesCross pollination is carried on mainly by insects, especially by honeybees, bumblebees, and to a very limited extent, other bee-like insects. The honeybee, of all insects, is most peculiarly adapted to the task of cross pollination. Most ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture