beekeeping and cotton fields

[10framer]

kbee that is more or less my understanding from talking to farmers in the area.  no boll weevil little spraying.  but that being near soybeans may be more troublesome.

lazy, my hopes are that the late flow will make for good winter stores and or a chance to make late season splits/nucs.

[catfishbill]

i have hives on both beans and cotton in north ms.hive placement is very important,also get to know the farmer,most of them will work with you any way they can.i put my name and phone number on the hive on the end hive on the stand.they have always given me a call ahead of spray time.around here they spray a pyrethroid and i stop the hive up for half a day,i have a small loss,but they rebound quickly.

[10framer]

bill, i don't plan on placing bees directly on the fields but i was wondering if i should screen the entrances the night before they spray.  it sounds like cotton won't be an issue but my plan for a second yard location will be close to beans.  i may have to re-think.

[kingbee]

Learn how to scout for soy bean pest.  A call to the grower-farmer telling him everything is fine in his bean field or that he may need to spray soon can pay huge dividends for you as well as for him. 

Rules of thumb:
Early planted soy beans don't usually need spraying because they mature before the number of insect pests becomes critical. 

Late planted or double cropped soy beans on the other hand don't usually produce nectar.  It's a variety thing to keep the higher number of late season pests from being attracted to and then breeding and multiplying in late planted or double cropped soy beans. 

Therefore late planted soy beans don't usually need spraying as long as they are the right variety when looked at from the farmer's point of view, or looked at from your view point, the wrong bean variety for the bees to make honey. 

The further North a soy bean field is the more the likelyhood of double cropping decreases.  Therefore the more likely it is that the farmer will plant a bean variety that produces nectar.

I hope this helps.

[10framer]

the bees are just below the fall line in georgia.  i'm pretty sure the guy planted beans late the last couple of years.  sounds like they won't be an issue.

[tryintolearn]

is there a possibility of returning workers feeding nectar directly to queen with the pestides applied to the cotton...i guess that could happen...it could be bad if it did happen