![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/farmers-turn-to-tech-as-bees-struggle-to-pollinate/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/131095576_gettyimages-492408306.jpg&description=Image source, BloomX Image caption, Israeli firm makes a plant pollinating machine that works by dislodging the pollen In the scorching morning heat Thai Sade brushes the avocado trees he will soon artificially pollinate. Based on a moshav, or collective farm, in central Israel, Mr Sade is the founder of tech firm BloomX. He says that the company has found a way to mechanically pollinate crops in a similar way to bees. "We are not replacing bees... but rather, offering more efficient pollinating methods to farmers, and reducing the dependence on commercial honeybees," he says. Three out of every four crops grown around the world to produce fruits or seeds for human consumption are reliant, at least in part, on pollinators. And it is bees, be they farmed honeybees, or the more than 20,000 different wild bee species, such as bumble bees, that do the heavy lifting. In the US, bees of all sorts are said to account for 75% of the pollination of the fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the country. It is a similar percentage in Europe, with other insects, such as wasps and butterflies, making up the remaining quarter. Unfortunately for farmers, bee populations are under pressure, due to factors such as climate change, habit loss and the use of pesticides. The European honeybee is also being badly affected by a parasitic mite called varroa destructor. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Habitat loss is putting the bee population under pressure BloomX's technology is currently aimed at two crops - blueberries and avocados - and allows them to be pollinated even if local bee numbers are very low. The firm's main products is called "Robee", which at first glance looks like a large push-along lawnmower. It has two mechanical arms that stick out either side. These vibrate, and when brushed over blueberry plants, they cause them to release their pollen. The level of vibration is said to have been designed to imitate that of bumble bees - the most effective pollinators of b){kind=link}
In the scorching morning heat Thai Sade brushes the avocado trees he will soon artificially pollinate.
Based on a moshav, or collective farm, in central Israel, Mr Sade is the founder of tech firm BloomX. He says that the company has found a way to mechanically pollinate crops in a similar way to bees.
“We are not replacing bees… but rather, offering more efficient pollinating methods to farmers, and reducing the dependence on commercial honeybees,” he says.
Three out of every four crops grown around the world to produce fruits or seeds for human consumption are reliant, at least in part, on pollinators. And it is bees, be they farmed honeybees, or the more than 20,000 different wild bee species, such as bumble bees, that do the heavy lifting.
In the US, bees of all sorts are said to account for 75% of the pollination of the fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the country. It is a similar percentage in Europe, with other insects, such as wasps and butterflies, making up the remaining quarter.