Victoria's almond orchards have been a hive of activity this month with the annual pollination of trees requiring about 120,000 beehives to kick off the season.
While the almond harvest – from January to April – is the busiest period for the industry, the size of the crop to be harvested in 2022 is reliant on bees being productive now.
After grapes, almonds are Victoria's second largest horticultural export, with plantings stretching from Swan Hill to Lindsay Point on the South Australian border with the highest concentration grown at Robinvale, near Mildura.
Agriculture Victoria's bee biosecurity team have been conducting physical hive inspections in these areas since early August and working with beekeepers to ensure hives arrive and leave in a healthy state.
"The number of hives builds up during the bloom period to match flower density so that food for the bees is available and then they're gradually removed from the orchards as the density of flowers thins out," Senior Apiary Officer Joe Riordan said.
"This ensures bees leave in a healthy state to move onto other pollination duties or to honey production."
Such a large movement of beehives comes with a strict array of biosecurity regulations, most notably the Australian Bee Biosecurity Code of Practice which has been in place nationally for the past three years and legislated in Victoria since 2019.
Designed to keep hives free from pests associated with hive-to-hive transmission, such as American foulbrood, the code ensures beekeepers coming to pollination have:
- undertaken an annual honey culture test
- completed the Biosecurity Online Training (BOLT) course
- inspected their brood for exotic diseases and pests such as varroa mite
- acquired the necessary health certificate to enter Victoria if coming from interstate.
Mr Riordan said a majority of beekeepers had stuck to the code and met their legal obligations under the Livestock Disease Control Act, which is very pleasing.
"We have been communicating with beekeepers prior to almond pollination on their requirements under the code. This ensures that all beekeepers and orchards have strong and healthy hives for pollination."
Surveillance activities were also undertaken for exotic parasites in apiaries including using sugar shake tests and sticky mats – which are simple field tests used to detect varroa mite.
"With such a large movement of hives into one area, we undertake surveillance for not only endemics but exotic diseases as well," Mr Riordan said.
"Undertaking surveillance helps to protect and safeguard the honey bee industry as a whole."
