PRESENT SITUATION OF HONEY BEES AND BUMBLE BEES HAVING POTENTIAL ENTOMOVECTOR TECHNOLOGY IN TURKEY

Summary

Microbiological control agents (MCA) are naturally occurring bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and viruses that can be used to manage pathogens and insect pests. Entomovector technology, novel technology for the application of MCA is the use of pollinating bees such as honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) and bumble bees (Bombus spp.). This technology is an environmentally friendly control strategy against plant pathogens and pests that makes use of pollinators to vector powder formulations of plant protection products from the hive to the flowers and leaves of pest-infested crops and improves crop pollination resulting in increased yield and crop quality. In practice, a dispenser is attached to the hive and loaded with a powder formulation of the desired MCA. The intent is for foragers exiting the hive to become dusted with the MCA and to deliver it to the target crop. Many reports have been published lately on the use of bees to disseminate of MCA.
Bees are the main animal pollinators of crops worldwide. The roles of pollinators are significant for many cultivated and uncultivated plants and many flowering plants for their reproduction, evolution and perpetuation of their species. Turkey is rich in these kinds of pollinators. The Anatolia is one of the most significant bee gene centers. For example, the Anatolian honey bee (A. m. anatoliaca) is an important bee race, which is resistant to cold weather and diseases and thus can live in hard conditions. The Caucasian honey bee (A. m. caucasica), which occur in the North-Eastern Anatolia, is one of the most important bee races in the world. The bumble bee (B. terrestris), which is located naturally in fauna of Turkey, is most important pollinator of many plants in native flora. Bombus terrestris is also used in greenhouse to their pollination efficiency and the increasing quality and quantity of crops. Turkey is one of the countries where greenhouses are abundantly used. In greenhouses 50 % of tomatoes and 15 % of peppers are cultivated. In 1997, 3500 commercial B. terrestris colonies were first introduced into Turkey. Approximately, 100.000 B. terrestris colonies are used for pollination in greenhouses in Turkey today. Here, we discuss the current status of commercial bumble bees and honey bees as pollinators in Turkey. On the other hand, BICOPOLL project began in 2011 as the first application of entomovector technology in Turkey.