Farm Chemicals International’s sister publication, 美国蔬菜种植者, had the opportunity to view Bayer CropScience’s 蜜蜂护理倡议 firsthand in Monheim, Germany. Rosemary Gordon, managing editor of the publication, is currently participating in Bayer’s AG Vegetable Future Forum, which began with a tour of the company’s global headquarters. One building on the headquarters’ grounds was home to a sign that read: “Our purpose: propelling farming’s future.”
该公司努力实现这一目标的一种方式是其新的拜耳蜜蜂护理中心，该中心于 6 月在蒙海姆开业。该中心背后的理念是汇集拜耳内部专注于蜜蜂健康和安全的活动。
第二个设施计划于 2013 年 7 月在北卡罗来纳州三角研究园开放。在北美拜耳蜜蜂护理设施中，研究生将有机会与美国农业部和其他机构就养蜂和杀虫剂的相互作用进行合作，负责人 Annette Schuermann 解释说位于蒙海姆的拜耳蜜蜂护理中心。
据该公司称，该设施将包括一个完整的实验室和研究养蜂场，以及进行蜜蜂健康研究和支持实际养蜂所需的蜂蜜提取和车间空间。该研究将侧重于影响蜜蜂健康的多种因素的综合害虫管理。
Schuermann 和全球传粉媒介安全经理 Christian Maus 博士说，由于据说蜜蜂授粉间接或直接负责我们三分之一的粮食生产，因此保持蜜蜂健康至关重要。他们都提到瓦螨是导致蜜蜂群体死亡的主要原因之一。
As the varroa mite sucks bees’ hemolymph it, in turn, transmits viruses, explained Schuermann. “The varroa mite transmits up to 20 additional viruses, which is why it is so detrimental,” she added.
Other factors can impact honey bees as well, including unfavorable weather conditions and the incorrect use of pesticides. “Bees live in a very complex environment,” explained Schuermann, “and that is what makes it so hard to determine a solution.”
Another reason for the problem with bee health is that not all beekeepers are alike. For example, Schuermann said one beekeeper can do everything right, keeping everything clean, but if a neighboring beekeeper does not follow such strict standards and has a mixture of pests and disease in his hive, those bees can transmit disease to bees in the healthy habitat. “If the healthy hive cannot defend itself from the other hive, then it can collapse,” she added.
新技术
目前，拜耳正致力于开发一种入口控制产品，以阻止病原体或病毒传播进入蜂巢。 Schuermann 解释说，当蜜蜂将病原体带回蜂巢时，该产品会在蜜蜂进入之前杀死病原体。
正在进行额外的工作以确定作物保护剂对蜜蜂的影响，磨练几乎所有作物以及杀虫剂的应用技术。根据 Maus 博士的说法，该公司已经与一所大学合作启动了一项全球调查项目，该项目将在未来两年内持续进行，并将研究所有现有作物，以确定每种作物的授粉者、与养蜂业的任何相关性、任何受管理的授粉等
Maus 还表示，正在进行研究以寻找对蜜蜂友好的应用技术。他解释说，与其他利益相关者正在进行的一个项目涉及寻找使用杀虫剂的方法，以最大限度地减少与蜜蜂的接触。其中一项技术涉及喷涂技术。
与先正达、德国霍恩海姆大学以及应用组件制造商一起，正在评估 Dropleg 应用技术的使用情况。 Maus 解释了 Dropleg 技术的工作原理。
“On the sprayer equipment, normally the spray bar is above the crop, and it sprays the canopies from above,” he said. “With the Dropleg equipment, its hook extensions reach down into the crop and spray it laterally or from below.” The end result, he said, should reduce any impact on honey bees.
Bill Brim of Lewis-Taylor Farms in Tifton, GA, who also is participating in the Forum, said that Bayer is “right on target” with its work focusing on the health and safety of bees. “I’m glad to see Bayer is taking up the initiative to do something about bee health,” he added.
For more information on Bayer’s Bee Care Program, 点击这里.