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Article: Agri-buzzzz-ness: bees an important part of commodity production.
- Article from:
- The Mississippi Business Journal
- Article date:
- December 15, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Dolan Media Company. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Apples that didn't fill out. Strawberries that were deformed. Watermelons the size of cantaloupes. Pumpkins and cucumbers that were ill-shaped.
This is what happened in Mississippi some 12 years ago when parasites devastated the honey bee population, according to Lewis Luke, a Florence beekeeper and a director of the Mississippi Beekeepers Association.
"Two-thirds of everything we eat has to be insect-pollinated, and honey bees provide 90% of this pollination," Luke said.
The annual pollination value in Mississippi is $200 million to $250 million, according to Harry Fulton, an entomologist in charge of honey bee inspection for the Mississippi ...