A test of mechanical pollination of almond trees by a University of California farm adviser indicates that it’s better to stick with bees, says Western Farm Press. It can cost $300 an acre to spray or blow pollen onto trees, but almond trees blossom over a two-week span, so the one-shot mechanical application misses many flowers while “bees that fly the orchard are out there for days at a time,” which increases the odds of successful pollination.
The UC farm adviser, Elizabeth Fichtner, who works in Tulare County, told the magazine, “If you have good bee activity, there’s no benefit. It’s a total waste of money. In a rare event, it [mechanical pollination] could help.” Growers have expanded almond plantings in California in recent years at the same time honeybees have suffered high wintertime mortality, and there is concern that natural pollinators won’t be available in sufficient numbers.
Research on mechanical pollination dates back decades and Fichtner says that every year there are growers who try artificial pollination as a back-up to bees or a safeguard against bee inefficiency.