Spring Pollination of Avocado Groves

Blossoming in California avocado groves occurs from late winter through early summer, but most harvested fruit develop from flowers that are pollinated during two months in spring. If you are placing bees in your grove it’s best to do so early in spring.

Bee activity is a good indicator of the potential strength of the fruit set, so monitor the number of bees and their activity in the avocado groves. Generally, the more bees the greater the amount of pollination.Too few bees working on the flowers can indicate a poor fruit set even if flower numbers are high.

A simple way to estimate how many bees are active on the trees is to count the bees while walking slowly around a tree in a minute. Fewer than 10 bees per tree is less than ideal, and could suggest poor fruit set if further cultural management practices to aid in pollination are not taken.