WORKING TOWARD BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR ORGANIC BEEKEEPING: A SIDE - BY - SIDE COMPARISON OF MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}The beekeeping industry is facing serious challenges to maintain the high numbers of honey bee colonies required to meet the demands for crop pollination. Currently, most managed honey bee colonies cannot survive the winter without disease treatment, and even with an intensivemanagement regime, beekeepers nationwide are averaging 40% yearly losses. Various practices are used to manage colonies, including conventional, organic, and chemical-free systems. There is acritical need for improved organic system that can better control parasitic mite pressure given thatmite control chemicals can be detrimental to overall bee health. Generating research-based and economic data that support organic beekeeping management practices is therefore key to improving organic agriculture by creating a profitable economic opportunity for beekeepers and organicgrowers. In this project, we willrigorously test the effect of organic, chemical-free and conventional honey bee management systems on honey bee health by quanifying (1) colony performance, (2) immunocompetence, and (3) parasite and pathogen levels. In addition, we will (1) quantify pesticide residues in beeswax from colonies in the three management systems, (2) develop an economic assessment of the cost-benefits of the different management systems, and (3) establish a long-lasting extension program to assist stakeholders with incorporation of alternative beekeeping management systems.