pollination

[Merlyn Votaw]

How many hives should I expect to use per acre for good pollination?

[golddust-twins]

:scratch: Hmmmmmm. I see no answers yet. Good question. I'd like to know too. I have 12 acres with a small orchard and this year had 5 hives. We had a good crop this year. But what is the answer to Merlyn Votaw's question??? :scratch: :scratch:

[Mathispollenators]

On average it seems most need 2 some more others less. Here is a link that may help in what you are looking for. http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/book/

[alpha6]

Lots of variables. Depends how strong your hives are; what is the crop; are there other things more attractive to the bees then the blooms on the corp that are available; etc.

General rule is two per acre but that varies, the link Mathis provided is pretty good.

[standman]

If you go to Bee Culture's website (www.beeculture.com), you can click on McGregor's Handbook of Pollination. It has a break down by crop, even telling you which crops/fruits/vegetables benefit from bee pollination. It has optimum ranges for number of hives per acre, etc. Hope that helps.