Let's celebrate World Bee Day!

Every year since 2018 on May 20th, we honor the vital role of bees and other pollinators in maintaining the health of our planet and its people. It all thanks to the efforts of the Government of Slovenia and the support of Apimondia, leading to its declaration by the UN General Assembly.

Bees and other pollinators are vital for our world, supporting agriculture and biodiversity on a global scale. With over 20,000 species of bees and countless other wild pollinators, they face unprecedented challenges, with their populations dwindling.

Today we would like to introducing you with project which created within EU CAP Network Operational Groups and is closely with bee's and other pollinators.

Today we would like to introducing you with project which created within EU CAP Network Operational Groups and is closely with bee's and other pollinators.

Preservation of the blackcurrant sector in Burgundy and Franche-Comté, securing production volumes and organoleptic quality in the face of climate change: adapting and developing innovative agro-ecological practices.

Blackcurrants are an emblematic crop in Burgundy, particularly for the production of crème de cassis. However, since the 1980s, the crop's highly variable yields have regularly declined, farmers have rarely been able to break even and the industry has faced a shortage of fruit. The blackcurrant stakeholders (farmers, industry, cooperatives, distillers, etc.) formed the association "Les acteurs du cassis" and, with the help of the EIP, launched a research programme to identify the causes and find answers to the decline in yields.

As the causes of the decline in blackcurrant yields were unknown, the problem was tackled in various ways: Agro-ecological measures for pollination and pests, in vitro plant breeding through meristem culture leading to disease-free plants, genetic improvement and organoleptic quality.

Noir de Bourgogne (NB) variety is said to be insect- pollinated, and as insect populations are collapsing, especially in agricultural environments, we turn first to pollination.

In 2018, was documented a 99% decline in pollinator abundance since the 1980s, when growers were already complaining about a lack of pollination. Only bumble bees and domestic bees were present, and Andrena bees - the legitimate pollinators of blackcurrants - were almost completely absent. We counted only one pollinator for every 3 min observed, making the lack of pollinators far more important than expected.

We estimated the impact of this near-absence of pollinators using an "optimal pollination experiment". In 6 orchards, we placed bumblebee nests under a large insect- proof net enclosing NB bushes and compared flower and fruit development with control plots with open pollination. 78% of flowers optimally pollinated by bumblebees developed into fruits, twice as many as in open pollinated flowers. When it came to ripe fruit, the result was even more impressive: fruit production was 3.56 times higher with optimal pollination. This result was due to more berries and a higher weight per berry.

Forcing bumble bees under a net for optimal pollination of NB flowers resulted in a yield similar to that commonly observed in the 1980s and a potential increase in income for farmers of more than €10,000 per hectare. However, netting the orchard is not possible.

Pollination is usually improved with honey bees. However, honeybees dislike blackcurrant flowers and when introduced into orchards, they leave in search of other, better flower resources. We therefore tested the efficiency of alternative pollinators: bumblebees and two solitary bees, Osmia bicornis and O. cornuta. Bumblebees and O. cornuta had no significant effect on yield, but bushes surrounding O. bicornis nests produced 40% more berries.

We decided to offer a comprehensive solution to increase pollination in orchards while minimising the costs involved: To add O. bicornis to the orchards at a reasonable cost, farmers were trained to collect cocoons and maintain them during the winter. This allowed them to double their cocoons each year almost for free.

However, bees do not only need a nest - they also need food. We have thus established flower strips in the orchards.

we designed a special wildflower mix to meet the needs of farmers and bees (Osmia and wild).

Interestingly, the number and diversity of wild bees increases sharply from the second year of flowering onwards, with 13 bee genera and 45 species in orchards with flower strips, and is likely to improve blackcurrant pollination.

For more information follow the link: https://bourgognefranchecomte.chambres-agriculture.fr/cote-dor/infos-locales-et-%20techniques/la-filiere-cassis/

https://www.sayens.fr/actualites/sayens/projet-feader-cassis/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DK7vABtyZs&t=77s

World Bee Day serves as a call to action for all of us – whether in government, organizations, civil society, or as concerned citizens – to champion initiatives that safeguard and enrich pollinators and their habitats.

Together, let's work together towards preserving their abundance and diversity, fostering sustainable beekeeping practices, and ensuring a thriving future for our precious pollinators.

Project general information:

Country and region: France, region Bourgogne Franche Comté

Category: Sustainable management of natural resources in farming practices