Optimizing Blueberry Pollination to Ensure Future Yields

Highbush blueberry is a pollinator-dependent crop, with ~560 million pounds produced in the United States, worth over $700 million annually. Current practices for maintaining the size of managed pollinator populations are outdated. We are developing a decision support tool to support growers in determining the managed bee population densities to maintain on their farms. This tool will aim to predict pollination, fruit set, and yield dependent on cultivar, flower density, bee activity, hive quantity/quality and weather. Model aims and current challenges will be discussed.

Clark Kogan
Clark Kogan
Washington State University