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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 Mississippi Business Journal Dec 15, 2003. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (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 Department of Plant Industry.
"This is the value ...