Lychee industry benefits from honey bee surveillance
September 24, 2024 | ALGA |
The Australian lychee industry heavily relies on honey bee pollination, with 80% of yields dependent on managed and wild bees. Dr. Lucy Tran-Nguyen of Plant Health Australia emphasizes the importance of a healthy honey beekeeping industry for pollination-dependent crops like lychees. To safeguard bee health, the industry supports the National Bee Pest Surveillance Program (NBPSP), which involves extensive surveillance methods at ports, aiming to detect exotic pests that could threaten bee populations. Recent detections of the Varroa destructor mite in New South Wales and Varroa jacobsoni in Queensland highlight ongoing risks. These pests can introduce diseases like deformed wing virus (DWV), affecting bee productivity and colony health. Lychee growers are encouraged to report unusual pests or symptoms through the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline to facilitate early detection and control efforts. Close collaboration between growers and beekeepers is vital for maintaining pollination services and promoting healthy bee populations, ensuring continued crop yields and overall agricultural productivity.
Read more
Viewed Articles
September 24, 2024 | ALGA | The Australian lychee industry heavily relies on honey bee pollination, with 80% of yields dependent on managed and wild bees. Dr. Lucy Tran-Nguyen of Plant Health Australi
Read More
November 15, 2025 | The Express Newspaper | Lychee farming is expanding in Queensland’s Tablelands and the Mareeba–Dimbulah Irrigation Area, where about 40 farms operate. According to the Department o
October 02, 2025 | Growing Produce | Florida’s avocado industry is facing a growing threat from avocado sunblotch viroid (ASBVd), a highly damaging disease that can deform fruit, stunt tree growth, an
January 11, 2026 | Daily Nation | A 23-year-old farmer, Musyoki Ndasya, manages a 22-acre mango plantation in Machakos County inherited from his grandfather, with about 2,000 mango trees producing up
January 02, 2026 | Taipei Times | The Taiwan Banana Research Institute has developed a new banana variety, Tai-Chiao No. 9 (TC9), with strong resistance to Panama disease, a major global threat to ban
March 27, 2026 | Radio Taiwan International | A farmer in Pingtung, Taiwan, has gained attention for producing unusually large wax apples weighing over one kilogram. The exceptional size and quality a
