by Lydia Holley June 6, 2022
Henderson County Master Gardener Association will host “Pollinators” with Janelle Cole. The presentation will be held Thursday, June 16, 1:00 p.m. at the Harvest Garden located inside the Henderson County Regional Fairpark Complex, 3356 TX 31 BUS, Athens. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Pollinators come in many shapes and sizes. Hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, wasps, flies, and even ants can help pollinate certain plants. Gardeners take delight when they see a plant being pollinated and we often take for granted that our fruits and vegetables will get pollinated without having to do the work ourselves. Of course, that is not always the case. Around the world, people are realizing the importance of pollinators and in some cases, extreme solutions have been implemented.
According to a peer reviewed case study by Uma Partap and Tang Ya, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan have all experienced a decline or loss of pollinators needed to grow apples. In Pakistan, they simply cut down the trees. Other countries imported honeybees. China chose to hand-pollinate their apple trees.
There is a five-day window for apple trees to be pollinated. One person can pollinate from five to ten trees in a day. In China, the reason for the decline of their pollinators is pesticides and habitat loss. For forty years prior to the loss of their pollinators, the regular routine was to spray up to 10 applications of pesticide per season. However, as with most things in nature, the problems and the solutions are complicated. In some parts of China, where habitat loss has not occurred, pollinators are still doing what comes naturally—pollinating. This suggests a diverse environment may be of extreme benefit to insects.
Where it has become necessary to hand pollinate, most of the farmers are phasing out of growing apples. A review after ten years revealed that apples are no longer the main crop in those regions. That is due to the lower price of apples, rising costs of human labor, and the ability to hire hand pollinators.
If we want to continue to see flowers and eat fruits and vegetables, pollinators are vital. Come learn how you can attract pollinators to your garden.
For more information, call 903-675-6130, email [email protected].
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