| Popis: |
Honey bees have previously been shown to disperse biocontrol agents of fire blight, such as Erwinia herbicola Eh252, onto apple flowers. In this study we investigated whether bees could also effectively disperse Eh252 onto nashi flowers. After providing lyophilised bacteria to two bee hives in a commercial nashi orchard for seven days, 83% of the flowers were colonised with Eh252. After removal of bacterial inoculum, 95 % of newly opened flowers were still colonised, indicating transfer of beneficial bacteria from flower to flower. In a similar experiment carried out three weeks later in an apple orchard, the rate of colonisation of apple flowers by Eh252 in the first three days was even greater. |
