‘Yes, I’m satisfied with Natupol Booster and Koppert’s services!’
MerryBerry is the largest plantation of bio blueberries in Romania. The farm is located in the village of Mija deep in the picturesque county of Dambovita. Surrounded by forests, the 115 ha plantation aims to meet all the necessary conditions for quality biological cultivation. And this includes Koppert’s Natupol bumblebee hives that ensure the blueberry plants are well pollinated.
Our hives have been used outdoors with success for the past three years by MerryBerry: ‘The main reason is to ensure proper pollination regardless of weather conditions or the wildlife present in the area. In our experience the cost of pollination is fully justified,’ says Expert Horticultural Engineer at MerryBerry, Madalin Slav. ‘At MerryBerry we understand how important pollination is in fruit development. I have used Koppert’s bumblebees not only for blueberries, but also cherries for many years now.’
‘Part of the plantation is in the third year of production and we used one Natupol Booster hive per hectare last spring. The other part of the plantation is in the second year of production and here we used one hive per two hectares,’ Madalin explains. ‘The plantation is surrounded by forests and this helps us a lot in when it comes to complementary pollination by other insects.’
According to Madalin who has worked at MerryBerry for the past four years, the advantages of using Koppert hives are that:
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Bumblebees are more active at low temperatures or bad weather than natural bees
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Bumblebees have a high capacity to visit more flowers and are able to carry more pollen
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Bumblebees have a better tolerance to certain microorganism-based biocontrol products
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Bumblebee pollination results in increased number of seeds in the fruit, which gives firmer and larger fruits
‘Yes, I’m satisfied with Koppert’s bumblebees and services!’ Madalin concludes.
Tripol hives are better adapted to periods of colder temperature as they are better insulated and contain more sugar water, especially when first blossom did not start yet. Ones the blossom started ( 10% or more) Natupol Boosters is more suitable for open filed crops.