Ongoing project
Development of blue-banded bees as managed buzz pollinators (PH19001)
Delivery Partner: Western Sydney University
This project is developing a range of management techniques that will enhance the potential of using blue-banded bees as an alternative pollinator in commercial greenhouses. Operating procedures and pollination guidelines for specific crops will be developed so that growers have access to multiple options for pollinating their crops.
Blue-banded bees have shown preliminary promise for use as mass-reared pollinators, particularly as pollinators of tomatoes in Australian greenhouses due to their ability to perform buzz pollination – that is, using vibrations to remove and collect pollen from flowers incidentally fertilising them.
Specifically, the research team will:
This project is funded through Hort Innovation's Frontiers program
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