Bumblebees from Europe for pollination of Russian vegetables were given a ban on flying
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Domestic greenhouses are built faster than bumblebee families are created
No matter how quickly we try to replace imports in the food market, the problem of dependence on Western supplies makes itself felt here and there. On the eve of the Rosselkhoznadzor banned the import of bumblebees into the country for pollination of vegetables in closed ground. Under the pretext that on their wings these insects can bring various sores. But how will this ban affect vegetable production?
The Rosselkhoznadzor banned the import of bumblebees from the EU countries due to the lack of confirmation of the epizootic and veterinary and sanitary well-being of insects that pollinate greenhouse plants. And behind this ban, a problem grows.
In recent years, the greenhouse vegetable industry in Russia began to develop rapidly, and the result was not long in coming. We provide ourselves with greenhouse cucumbers by 95%, China supplies only 5% to the regions of the Far East. And for tomatoes, the self-sufficiency of our country is 60%.
However, as we can see, the keys to the success of greenhouse production are still in the hands of our Western colleagues, who sell bumblebee colonies for pollination of cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as peppers and eggplants.
The Association of Bumblebee Breeders of Russia has expressed concern about the possible importation into the country along with insects of viruses of various diseases that can cause “significant harm to plants and products.” To avoid such a development of events, the Rosselkhoznadzor sent a request to Brussels to hold video calls and receive official EU guarantees that bumblebees from the Old World do not have clinical symptoms and suspicions of diseases before being sent to Russia. But there is no response yet. As they say, “wait for an answer.”
The association of bumblebee breeders itself, on the initiative of which the import of bumblebee families from the EU countries has been banned since June 20, refrained from commenting. However, domestic farmers believe that they are not to blame for the shortage of these insects for industrial greenhouses. It’s just that earlier the greenhouse production of vegetables in Russia was at a minimum level and it was more profitable to buy bumblebee families (from 100 to 120 working individuals) abroad. But now this industry has begun to develop rapidly, and there is a problem of lack of “pollinators”.
Judge for yourself: the area for planting vegetables in greenhouses at the end of last year in Russia amounted to 3,231 hectares, since 2017 it has increased by 21%. It is not surprising that there are simply not enough bumblebees to process such plantations. Although domestic greenhouse complexes artificially grow bumblebee families for their own needs. Based on the calculation – five bumblebee hives per 1 hectare. The process itself lies in the fact that the insect, landing on “male” and “female” flowers, mixes pollen, as a result of which fruits are tied.
“Vegetables in light seasonal greenhouses can be pollinated by bees,” Vasily Timofeev, a beekeeper near Moscow, told us. – But in capital industrial greenhouses, only bumblebees do this work. Here are the features of biology, besides, bumblebees, unlike bees, can live in enclosed spaces. And bees love freedom.
As the farmer explains, the bumblebee has a longer proboscis than a bee, it pollinates those plants where the bee simply does not reach. A feature of these insects is that they pollinate 100% of plantings of cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. This increases the yield by about 25%.
– True, – the beekeeper concludes his story, – recently self-pollinating vegetable seeds, male and female in one person, have appeared on the market. It is not he, not she, but “it”. The fruits set themselves, without pollination. So someday the need for bees and bumblebees may completely disappear. But the saturation of taste in such fruits is much worse than in pollinated ones, and the yield is lower.
Many townspeople, far from rural production, know about bumblebees only from Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” and from the song from the movie about “a shaggy bumblebee – yes to fragrant hops” performed by Nikita Mikhalkov. Accordingly, they consider these insects “empty”, almost drones. After all, they do not wear honey. In fact, such “workhorses” are still to be found. They are always on the move: they collect nectar (pollinate flowers), build a dwelling. Not for themselves, but for new generations, since on average only 6 weeks live in a greenhouse. In the wild, even less – 2-3 weeks. According to experts, bumblebees “burn out” at work. In such a short period of time, few people manage to do so much. For comparison, a bee during honey collection lives up to 60 days.
Newspaper headline:
Interrupted flight of a bumblebee
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