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Using bees to pollinate one’s crops is as
old a concept as farming itself. However,
using bees to apply fungicide is a whole
new area of biotechnology.
Welcome to the world of precision vectoring, headlined
by
Bee Vectoring Technology (BVT)
.
Bee vectoring uses bees instead of mechanical
spraying of something on a plant. According to BVT,
it is safe for the bees to interact with, it is much
more precise in application, and there is less wasted
product.
Bee vectoring as a concept has been around for a
while, but BVT believes it is the first company to take
it to a commercial level, thanks to company scientists
who found the naturally derived pesticide’s active
ingredient and realized the potential for bees to
deliver it.
To be fair, BVT did say that there are a few other
companies around the world that also have ideas on
how they could utilize bee vectoring, but the company
feels that they are the true pioneers and experts in
the field, with not only successful trials but happy
customers.
Currently, BVT only has registration to sell its product
in the US, but it has applied to and is in the process of
applying to other key countries.
Precision Ag Digital Digest
talked with BVT to learn
how precision vectoring changes the landscape of
precision agriculture.
How does bee vectoring work?
The easiest way to think of it is as reverse
pollination. Instead of bringing pollen back, the
bees bring a bio-fungicide out. As the bees leave
their hives, they walk through trace amounts of
a specially formulated powder that contains our
active ingredient (Clonostachys rosea CR-7) as
well as a product we call
Vectorite
. The latter
allows the bio-fungicide to stick to the bees so
they can bring it out into the plants. Once they
fly and land on a flower, a few spores rub off the
bees onto the plant, where our active ingredient
will colonize and prevent other diseases from
getting in.
What results are farmers hoping for?
The main goal is to prevent fungal disease
outbreaks in the field, but it also saves money
from having to apply other, more expensive
chemical fungicides. And, by not having to
use those chemicals, it saves them for when
you have really bad outbreaks. By not always
using a chemical fungicide and applying BVT’s
biologically derived pesticide, diseases are
unable to build up a tolerance to chemical
BEE-CAUSE
THEY CAN
Company uses bees to apply, on demand, fungicide
to plants
ANDREW JOSEPH
FARMS.COM
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