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 “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.
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.
