How many hives per acre for polination

[Shanevrr]

Had this question come up today from a customer, hes wanting to rent his hives to polinate a peach orchard?  Any ideas or is there an chart of some sort?

[Michael Bush]

I don't know about a "standard" but timing has more to do with effectiveness than the number of hives.  Still my standard is I don't take less hives than is worth my trouble to be paid for since taking one hive isn't any difference in work.  I put the on a trailer and leave them on the trailer unless the orchard insists on distributing them (which does not help at all).  I never take less than four and I try to talk them into 10 as that is a trailer load.

The timing should be take them there right after the first blooms.  That way when the bees first look for flowers there are some right there and they start working them.  If you take them there before any have bloomed they will likely find some other nectar source, and bees tend to be faithful to a source until it gives out, so they may find a nice field of something blooming and start working it and then the peaches bloom and they just keep working the field instead.

So my plan is always to set my trailer next to the hives, and load them up and then leave them there on the trailer in my yard until I get reports of the first boom from the orchard and then the next morning before light I close them up with duct tape and staples and head to the orchard planning to get there at dawn.  I unhitch them, get them reasonably level and leave them there until they ask me to pick them up.

I usually take ten and get $50 a hive.  That seems to be the going rate for a short haul local orchard pollination around here...

If I can do it on my way to work it saves me a lot of gasoline as I live in the country and typically they are around (either North or South of) Omaha.

[cam]

Rule of thumb is 2 hives/acre. Most growers will want less until they try 2/acre, then they tend to stay with that.