BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — It's once again that time of year when temperatures rise and pollinators get to work for the season. However, with the bee population continuing to decline drastically on a year to year basis, the US Department of Agriculture has officially declared bloom season, putting some restrictions on how farmers are allowed to use pesticides.
The use of pesticides is fairly common among farmers. With the citrus bloom period being declared however, growers now have to use different resources to continue their work. According to Brian Gatza, deputy director for Kern County's Department of Agriculture and Measurement Standards, there are some alternatives available to farmers during this year's bloom.
Gatza says that during bloom season, which starts when 10 percent of blossoms have opened and ends when 75 percent of blossoms have fallen off the north side of the tree, farmers may only use pesticides during times when bees are inactive. The inactive period typically starts one hour after sunset and ends two hours before sunrise. Bees also go inactive if the temperature is under 50 degrees.
According to Gatza, these regulations apply to Kern, Tulare, and Fresno Counties. These counties have larger, more robust citrus industries which bring in mass amounts of bee activity.
Gatza says he is aware of how important bees are to our agriculture, and with their decline in numbers over the years, pesticide regulations during the citrus bloom is just one of the ways the county is trying to bolster the bee population.
"Bees are already under threat by multiple different factors, and one of the things that we could easily work on trying to mitigate against is any types of serious damage caused by pesticides," said Gatza.
Gatza adds that although 3 counties are affected by these regulations, there are certain farmers that will be impacted more depending on what they grow and how heavy a bee presence they have in their fields.
"The citrus blossoms are very highly favorable, so generally when the beekeepers place their apiaries next to these particular fields, they're going to be working those fields quite a bit," said Gatza.
The Kern County Department of Agriculture wants to remind the public that because farmers have to change when they apply pesticides during the bloom season regulations, people may be seeing more nighttime work in the fields as farmers adapt their schedules to stay in compliance.
