Did you know that each hectare of kiwifruit orchard needs 8 bee families for good pollination result during flowering in May? Bees must be brought after about 10% of flowers opening, not before and their exit should face morning sun to let them get out and work as early as possible. Why are bees needed? Because pollen of male flowers should come in contact with female flowers and intensity of such contact results in more bigger sized kiwifruit at the harvest time. Only well pollinate flowers can produce good sized fruit and for farmers it is very important since the price difference between small and big sized kiwifruit (of say between 75gr/piece and 120gr/piece) can be double.
In Georgia we do not yet have specialized pollination beekeeper contractors. Therefore to be on the safe side, we decided to invest in our own bee program. We collected our bee families in village Mukhuri, Samegrelo area --- place known as beekeeping cluster and just under the Caucasian mountains.
One interesting fact is that Georgian Grey Bee specie has the longest proboscis (7.2mm) in the world and is known for high honey and wax productivity, fertility of queen bees, resistance to cold winter, long wings, a weak swarming ability, effective collection of nectar and honey even in the conditions of their scarcity, active defense of nests, an ability to work in foggy and drizzly weather
Picture: our bees just returned from mountains
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