Continuing Education Courses
State: Arizona

As of January 2018, there were approximately 2.63 million managed honey bee colonies in the U.S. Over 500,000 make their home permanently in California, while another 1.5 million hives are moved into the state annually to augment the pollination demands of California’s almond crop alone. This means slightly fewer than 79 percent of the managed hives in the U.S. are used to pollinate a single California crop.

In 2019 there are about 1.16 million planted acres of almond orchards in California, with mature trees on bearing acreages capable of producing more than 2.27 billion pounds of almonds annually. Growers usually rent two colonies of honey bees per bearing acre.

“Honey bees are essential to almond production,” said Bob Curtis, pollination consultant and retired director of Agricultural Affairs for the Almond Board of California. “Every almond we eat exists because a honey bee pollinated an almond blossom so it’s in farmers’ best interest to keep them safe. Our livelihood depends on it.”

As important as managed honey bees are to almonds and the more than 100 other crops they pollinate, pesticides and insecticides used to protect crops against pests are also important. Farmers and crop protection specialists recognize that and work diligently to ensure that pollinators and pesticides can co-exist in balance.

This course will examine the stressors on the honey bee population such as Colony Collapse Disorder, nutrition, pesticides, parasites and pathogens as well as rules and legislation to protect honey bees. 

Navel orangeworm (NOW), Amyelois transitella, first appeared in California in the early half of the 20th century and rapidly increased. Currently, navel orangeworm is the primary pest of almonds, pistachios and walnuts, and also present in citrus, stone fruit, pome, date, and fig crops, impacting the dynamics of the pest in California as hosts for the pest. This course discusses the threat of navel orangeworm in nut crops, as well as best management practices for treatment.

This course is accredited for the following licensing categories: PCAs, Qualified Applicators, Private Applicators, Aerial Applicators, and County Permit Holders.