Saskatchewan apiarists may soon have a new tool to protect bees from pesticides.
Beekeepers, aerial applicators, the Saskatchewan government and crop science companies have joined forces to implement a program called DriftWatch.
As noted on the program’s website at driftwatch.org, DriftWatch was developed at Purdue University and is “enhances communications … to help prevent and manage drift effects that sometimes occur from spray operations.”
Beekeepers supply information on the location of bee yards, which is then loaded onto an online map. Pesticide applicators look at the map before spraying a particular field to reduce the chances of an accidental bee kill.
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“It’s looking promising to have it available next year,” said Saskatchewan provincial apiarist Geoff Wilson.
“It’s progressing nicely at the moment. We just have to get things finalized.”
Saskatchewan will become the first Canadian province to adopt DriftWatch if the program goes ahead.
Beekeepers, growers and pesticide applicators in 10 U.S. states used the communication-mapping program this year, including Colorado, Nebraska, Montana and some in the U.S. Midwest.
Dow AgroSciences and Bayer CropScience have offered to pay for the program in Saskatchewan so that beekeepers and applicators can use it for free, Wilson said.
He said the software will be a significant improvement over relying on informal conversations to protect bees from pesticides.
“There is no real system in place. The beekeeper, farmer and pesticide applicator each have to know what’s going on,” Wilson said.
“It (DriftWatch) is a one stop place so it’s easy for everyone to figure out…. If you look at the website it is fairly simple to use.”
Rheal Lafreniere, the provincial apiarist in Manitoba, said beekeepers in other parts of Canada are eager to adopt DriftWatch and will monitor its effectiveness in Saskatchewan.
He said Manitoba beekeepers need such a program, especially in years when aerial spraying is commonplace.
“We’ve been lucky for the last couple of years (in Manitoba) not to have a major outbreak (of insects) that’s caused a lot of foliar applications,” he said.
“Those things come in cycles and we’re almost overdue for a pest outbreak. The faster we get a program like this up and running the greater chance we can have to minimize the impact (of spraying).”
