Posted on Dec 5, 2023
OSU researchers to lead $4.2M grant study on honeybee disease
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A persistent disease is killing honeybees, affecting farmers across the U.S. Now, a team of researchers — including several from Oregon State University — is on the case.
OSU is teaming up with three other universities, with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to investigate European foulbrood disease. It’s a bacteria that can turn honeybee larvae to mush. It’s become a serious problem for beekeepers and farmers over the past six to seven years.
Professor Ramesh Sagili leads the team at OSU. “Honeybees are really critical pollinators, and our food production is dependent on them, their health and well-being,” he said.
The four-year study will track over 1,500 commercial bee colonies as they pollinate bee-dependent crops like highland blueberries and almonds in Washington, Oregon, California and Mississippi. Researchers are looking for the disease and for the factors that might make some bees more vulnerable to infection.
The study is focused on western honeybees, the most prolific pollinator in the United States. Sagili said researchers estimate at least one-third of food grown in the U.S. relies on honeybee pollination.
Unfortunately, about 30% of commercial colonies in the U.S. are lost each year from a combination of stressors and diseases. Those losses hurt yields for crops that rely on the intrepid insects.
The comprehensive, longitudinal study aims to understand all the contributing factors for European foulbrood disease. Researchers hope to use the information to develop strategies to pass on to beekeepers and farmers, keeping bee colonies and crops healthy.
OSU is teaming up with three other universities, with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to investigate European foulbrood disease. It’s a bacteria that can turn honeybee larvae to mush. It’s become a serious problem for beekeepers and farmers over the past six to seven years.
Professor Ramesh Sagili leads the team at OSU. “Honeybees are really critical pollinators, and our food production is dependent on them, their health and well-being,” he said.
The four-year study will track over 1,500 commercial bee colonies as they pollinate bee-dependent crops like highland blueberries and almonds in Washington, Oregon, California and Mississippi. Researchers are looking for the disease and for the factors that might make some bees more vulnerable to infection.
The study is focused on western honeybees, the most prolific pollinator in the United States. Sagili said researchers estimate at least one-third of food grown in the U.S. relies on honeybee pollination.
Unfortunately, about 30% of commercial colonies in the U.S. are lost each year from a combination of stressors and diseases. Those losses hurt yields for crops that rely on the intrepid insects.
The comprehensive, longitudinal study aims to understand all the contributing factors for European foulbrood disease. Researchers hope to use the information to develop strategies to pass on to beekeepers and farmers, keeping bee colonies and crops healthy.
OSU researchers to lead $4.2M grant study on honeybee disease
Posted from opb.org
Oregon State University
Research
USDA
Farming
Agriculture
Posted 5 mo ago
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I agree that honey bees are critical to food production, and lots of other things like plant health. Is it really gonna take them four years to figure it out, or just four years to spend all that money?
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This is probably one of those "unnecessary spending" grants by the federal government that conservatives are always bitching about.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The research teams will also document climatic factors like temperature and humidity to discover if they have an impact on the incidence and prevalence of the disease.
In the second and third years of the grant, Sagili said the team will focus on developing disease mitigation strategies for beekeepers, such as whether or when to apply antibiotics to their hives, the most effective time to split colonies and how often to replace honeycomb.
“The beekeeping industry and specialty crop producers such as blueberry and almond growers are really excited about this grant,” he said. “It’s a huge, multidisciplinary collaborative effort with the states, the beekeepers and the farmers involved in this project.”
In addition to Sagili, OSU researchers Jeff Chang, Andony Melathopoulos, Maude David and Tim Delbridge will be working on the grant, which also includes education and outreach with OSU Extension.
Field work will start in February in California, where beekeepers from around the country bring their hives to pollinate almonds as one of the first crops of the year."
..."The research teams will also document climatic factors like temperature and humidity to discover if they have an impact on the incidence and prevalence of the disease.
In the second and third years of the grant, Sagili said the team will focus on developing disease mitigation strategies for beekeepers, such as whether or when to apply antibiotics to their hives, the most effective time to split colonies and how often to replace honeycomb.
“The beekeeping industry and specialty crop producers such as blueberry and almond growers are really excited about this grant,” he said. “It’s a huge, multidisciplinary collaborative effort with the states, the beekeepers and the farmers involved in this project.”
In addition to Sagili, OSU researchers Jeff Chang, Andony Melathopoulos, Maude David and Tim Delbridge will be working on the grant, which also includes education and outreach with OSU Extension.
Field work will start in February in California, where beekeepers from around the country bring their hives to pollinate almonds as one of the first crops of the year."
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