the Apiary was at the forefront of digital technology it is no coincidence: last year many of them have suffered from a mass pestilence of bees due to the processing fields with pesticides. Can the digital service to save useful insects from damage? It just needs to figure out Altai beekeepers. If the protection is effective, then “Mobile apiary” go, and other “honey” regions of the country.
Altai Krai is famous buckwheat, foothill, meadow honey. However, this popularity is not always for local beekeepers, who complain that under the brand name “honey” often sell an obvious fake. Altai beekeepers for several years trying to protect their rights to “sweet” brand. And then another attack – Palomar. Last year at fields of rape are attacked by hordes of pests. Farmers rushed to save the crops, pollinating them mercilessly poisonous chemicals. Together with the pests slack more than four thousand bee colonies, about 600 of whom died completely. And this is only according to official figures, the real figure of losses is several times more.
with Beekeeping, we are mainly engaged in the farms, many of them are not registered anywhere, do not have vetpasporta and nomadic cards. Therefore, the dead bees from such apiaries no one took into account, – said the head of the regional Union of beekeepers Sergei Tastan.
After large-scale disasters Altai beekeepers offered to work legally, to learn about the upcoming processing of fields. For this region, together with the Ministry of agriculture of the Russian Federation has developed the application “Mobile apiary,” which allows farmers and beekeepers to share information with your smartphone. Altai region was first testing a warning system in thirteen parts. If it shows high efficiency, it will be applied across the province and in other regions of the country.
To make mobile application absolutely free – you can download it in PlayMarket and AppStore. Now it is tested 146 apiaries, which last year suffered the most from damage. Alexander Capturin beekeeper from the Trinity district – among those who have mastered the new service.
In his personal farms of 110 bee colonies during the season they give up to five tons of honey from the meadow motley grass and buckwheat. But last year the farmer did not reach a third of the crop, because forty families were poisoned.
– They are not dead, but hurt from the fall, so honey wore, – says the beekeeper. – Since we’re officially all the bee colonies we have state registration, veterinary and decorated nomadic map of the location of the apiary, – from the regional budget, we paid compensation. It is little more than 1.8 thousand rubles for each affected bee family. Did not expect such support. With this money we purchased new vehicles and equipment, updated hives.
During our conversation, Alexander A. just put new Queens in the hives, where they live, slacked bee. “The bad thing is that the farmer sprayed pesticides in the afternoon when the bees worked in the fields. If he was “the air with dust”, as expected, in the evening, then my players wouldn’t suffer”, – complains beekeeper.
this year because of the early spring honey crop in the Altai began in may. Many cultures bloomed two to three weeks earlier than usual, and therefore the beginning of the honey flow has moved from June to may.
– In the mobile app a couple of times there were warnings about hypobromide fields near my apiary – said beekeeper. But after last year’s damage, the farmers try to do everything by the book: “dust” only in the evening when bees have returned to hives. And in the morning, if the weather is cool, we can close the hives and releasing the bees later. Even the bees will not fly to the treated field because they are first sent “spies”, and if they slacked back, the other will not fly.
Capturing not in a hurry to evaluate the effectiveness of the mobile app. “We will work Medobory season – then we’ll see. Responsible farmers and without this program we were warned about hypobromide fields, and irresponsible and on the phone to tell us not to be” – fears beekeeper.
But the farmer from Ust-Kalmansky district Andrew Quint believes that mobile alert will not solve the problem of damage of bees in large farms. “Even if we were to report two or three days on the application of pesticides on neighboring fields, we just physically do not have time to move a thousand hives to another location. It is suitable for small apiaries, but not for industrial beekeeping,” he said.
Sergey Tastan, Chairman of the National Union of beekeepers of Russia:
– the Mobile app is only the first step in solving the problem. We propose to restrict the use of hazardous chemicals, and then completely give up drugs of the first and second classes of hazard in agriculture. Because pesticides are harmful not only for insects but also for humans.
help “RG”
In the Altai Krai on January 1, 2020, there were 182 thousand bee colonies. Gross production of honey in the region in 2019 was 7.65 thousands tons, marketable honey – 4.3 thousand tons.
