Importance of bees in pollination of crops in the European Union countries
2016
Madras-Majewska, B., Warsaw Univ. of Life Sciences (Poland.). Div. of Apiculture | Majewski, J., Warsaw Univ. of Life Sciences (Poland). Dept. of Agricultural Economics and International Economic Relation
The main task of bees is pollination. The results achieved with pollination are many times higher than the value of the products of these insects. Due to changes in production technologies, reduction of the surface of nonproductive areas, environmental pollution and improper use of pesticides, the importance of bees in pollination is constantly growing. This applies especially to countries with highly developed agriculture. According to FAOSTAT, in the years 1961-2013, the number of bee colonies in the EU countries increased by 30%. At the same time, the acreage of open-pollinated crops increased more than 3 times. The biggest growth of the acreage was observed in the case of rape and sunflower. The area of these crops in the EU is too large to be entirely pollinated by bee colonies, especially because the flowering time of rape is similar to that of some fruit plants. In addition, sunflower crops are concentrated in several EU countries which do not have a sufficient number of bee colonies needed for pollination of the entire acreage of the plant. This results in losses, on the one hand – caused by reduction of the crop yield, and on the other hand – by the unused potential of plants for honey production.
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