Honey Bee Pollination of Day-Neutral Strawberries Grown in Tunnels
The use of tunnel systems has become more popular in northern regions because they can raise temperatures and help extend the growing season for crops. However, how the presence of plastic covers can affect bee pollination is unsure. In this presentation, we will share the outcome of an experiment conducted to evaluate ‘Albion’ and ‘Seascape’ strawberry cultivars using four tunnel treatments and one hive for honeybee pollination. Some flowers were excluded from pollination to simulate the protection layer. The fruit was compared to the unbagged treatment.
Joussy Hidrobo Chavez is an international graduate student from Ecuador. She is currently in her second year pursuing a Master of Science degree in Horticulture at Oregon State University, where she was awarded a scholarship to fund her postgraduate education. She completed her undergraduate degree in Agricultural Engineering from San Francisco de Quito University in Ecuador. At Oregon State University, Joussy received guidance and supervision from Ramesh Sagili in the Honey Bee Lab and Erica Chernoh in the Berry Initiative Team. Joussy’s research contribution has been focused on honey bee pollination in strawberry season production systems using high tunnels and low tunnels. Beyond her research, her passion for providing education to Hispanic and Latino communities led to helping the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program. Her collaboration on translating and recording the e-campus material provided the first master beekeeper program in Spanish in the US.