Wales Farmer 22 FEATURE JANUARY 2014


FRUITS OF LABOUR: Peter Williams, pictured with Farming Connect facilitator, Kathleen Parry, grows apples, cherries and pears in his orchard at Great House Farm.


PICTURE: Debbie James.


Working relationship needs help to blossom


Farmers urged to help stop decline in pollinators


FARMERS across Wales are being urged to play a role in reversing the decline of insect pollina- tors –orface afuture of


limited crops. At GreatHouse Farm,near


Usk, arable and livestock produc- er Peter Williams nurtures habi- tats thatsupport bees because they playsuch acrucial role in crop production. As well as encouraging wild


pollinators,MrWilliams also sees the value in managed colonies.He had hivesofhoneybees on the farm, butthe bees perished in last year’sfreezing temperatures. During an open dayatGreat


PRODUCTION BOOST: Specialist fruit grower Robert Boyle says pollinators fertilise blossom which increases the productivity of fruit trees.


PICTURE: Debbie James.


House Farm,aFarming Connect demonstration farm, farmers were encouraged to allocate the margins and corners of fields and other small spaces as habitatfor pollinators. Janet Lowore,ofBees for Development, said this was


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk By Debbie James


importantbecause crops, roads and other development had replaced large areas of habitat thatwild pollinators rely on for survival. Ms Lowore said it wascrucial


forfarmers and the wider popula- tion to understand the crucial role thatbees playinthe food chain.


“Bees depend on plants and


plants depend on bees.Weunder- stand thatplants areatthe bot- tom of the food chain butwe sometimes forget thatplants would not exist if they didn’t have this close relationship with bees,” she said. “Ashumans we arevery reliant


on bees to pollinate food crops.” She urged farmers to think like


beekeepers. “Beekeepers arevery awareof potential food sources forbees; if thereare no flowers in the coun- tryside they question what their bees will exist on. We all need to think about plants and the polli- nators whofeed on them.” An orchardofcherry,pear and


apple trees at GreatHouse Farm relies on bees forpollination, but specialist fruit grower and nurs- eryman, Robert Boyle,said more would be encouraged if bee- friendlyplants were incorporated into the grass swardbelowthe trees or into the periphery.


Mr Boyle recommends clovers,


napweed, yarrow and trefoils. “Pollinators fertilise blossom


which increases the productivity of fruit trees,” he said. “The addition of certain plants


also encourages biodiversity and ahealthypopulation of beneficial predators to control pests.” Orchards must also be careful-


ly managed ahead of the autumn to ensurethey stayhealthyand productive forthe subsequent season. Fallen fruit should be removedand the grass belowthe trees mown to shred leaves, there- by reducing the risk of disease. “If leavesare shredded they


will be taken down into the soil by the earth worm population. This reduces the environment which encourages disease and is particularly relevant to apple scab which will winter as spores under leaf litter,” Mr Boyle explained. Farming Connect facilitator


Kathleen Parry,who organised the event, said it had concentrat- ed the minds of visitors on the importance of providing habitat refuge forbees and forunlocking the potential in Wales’ orchards. Farming Connect, which is


deliveredbyMenter ABusnes,is funded through the Rural Development Plan 2007-2013 which is


financed by the


European Agricultural Fund for RuralDevelopment and the Welsh Government.


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