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Funded Project |
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Funding Program:
Enhancement Grants - Special Projects |
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Project Title:
Breeding an Economically Viable Honey Bee for Reduced-Chemical Beekeeping |
Project Director (PD):
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Lead State: GA Lead Organization: University of Georgia |
| Undesignated Funding: $20,665 |
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Start Date: Jul-01-2004 End Date: Jun-30-2005 |
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Site/Commodity: honeybees |
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Summary:
This proposal seeks funding under the Special Projects category. A case is made that the U.S. beekeeping industry has been slow to adopt pest-resistant honey bee stocks, preferring instead to depend on synthetic in-hive pesticides which raises risks of contaminated honey. This proposal seeks to develop a genetically improved bee stock that will encourage beekeepers to reduce their use of in-hive chemicals, lowering consumer risk of contaminated honey. The products of the program will be (1) a demonstration of the techniques necessary to develop a bee that is both pest resistant and economically viable and (2) an actual bee stock that will be made available to the industry. The program employs queen propagation and mating methods that are easy to understand. Moreover, we have documented that beekeepers rank pest-resistant honey bees as the highest research priority for the industry today. It is estimated that national benefits accruing over 5 years from practices championed by this proposal include: · 8,139,900 fewer chemical applications for varroa control · $29,547,837 savings in chemical applications · 5,722 kg reduction of the in-hive miticide fluvalinate · 11,070 kg reduction of the in-hive miticide coumaphos · reduced risk of contaminated honey · reduced risk to the environment and handler · improved reproductive performance of queen bees
Objectives: The ultimate aim of this project is to induce beekeepers to reduce their use of in-hive chemicals by delivering to them a genetically improved bee stock expressing pest resistance in concert with other characters of economic importance. There are two phases, stock development and delivery. This proposal addresses only phase 1, the objectives of which are to select a bee stock that simultaneously expresses (1) reduced colony Varroa levels, (2) high brood production and (3) viability, (4) hygienic behavior, (5) high honey production, and (6) gentleness using conventional propagation and mating methods. Although outside the funding period requested in this proposal, phase 2 of the program will develop a distribution protocol. It is my belief that by the completion of this funding period (June 30, 2007) we will have a stock ready for the delivery phase. |
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