Pollination failures also occur when bloom periods of two varieties used for cross-pollination do not overlap. Poor climatic conditions during bloom can also adversely affect pollination. In areas where native bees have been infected with tracheal or varroa mites, growers should rent beehives from commercial beekeepers that have strong colonies. To prevent bees from foraging flowers of dandelions or other weeds, mow the orchard or control the weeds with a herbicide before the fruit plants bloom. Wait to move the beehives into the orchard until the fruit crop has started to bloom and remove the hives as flowers stop blooming.
Beehive inserts can also enhance pollination in commercial orchards.
Inserts are placed at the hive entrance and filled with pollen from a pollinizer variety. Pollen can be purchased from a commercial supplier and should be kept cool and out of the sun until it is placed in an insert. Use a teaspoon of undiluted pollen every several hours. This guide is also available in Portable Document Format. Click the PDF button to the left to get it.