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For
immediate release FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2004
Contact:
Patrick Jennings or Cara Hazelwood,
(502)
564-5126
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| "This
approval by EPA gives us another tool to preserve
beekeeping ..."
Commissioner
Richie Farmer
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Frankfort, KY–Kentucky beekeepers have a new weapon
in their fight against a small but powerful enemy devastating
their hives.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved
the use of the pesticide Api Life VAR in Kentucky for
control of varroa mites. The mites have caused havoc
in domestic beehive populations and virtually wiped
out wild honeybees.
“Honeybees have become an increasingly important
part of Kentucky’s agriculture since the rise
of horticulture in the state,” said Agriculture
Commissioner Richie Farmer. “Our state apiarist,
Phil Craft, has been working with beekeepers statewide,
helping them to combat the varroa mite. This approval
by EPA gives us another tool to preserve beekeeping
in the Commonwealth.”
“The value of beekeeping for crop pollination
and honey production is tremendous here,” Craft
said. “These mites were first discovered in the
U.S. in 1987 and in Kentucky in 1991, and our beekeepers
have suffered significant economic and bee colony losses
due to these pests.”
Craft worked on the request to EPA for use of Api Life
VAR in conjunction with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s
Division of Environmental Services.
The resistance varroa mites have shown to other chemicals
used for their control has continued to make them the
chief problem for beekeepers, Craft said. In October
1999, the EPA approved the CheckMite+ strip, which contains
the active ingredient coumaphos, for use in Kentucky
against the mite. While CheckMite+ is still very effective,
he said, varroa resistance to it has been reported in
the eastern United States.
“We hope that EPA’s approval of Api Life
VAR will help to reduce the spread of varroa resistance
to CheckMite+ and also to the pesticide Apistan through
a rotation of different control agents,” Craft
said.
Application of Api Life VAR is more complicated than
either Apistan or CheckMite+, and beekeepers must follow
label instructions carefully for its use to be effective.
For more information, contact Craft by phone at (502)
573-0282 or by e-mail at phil.craft@kyagr.com.
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