The Bee and the Blight
Fruit growers grapple with the scientific reality that bees, essential for pollination, also inadvertently spread devastating fire blight.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
There has been considerable agitation in some parts of the state in regard to the distribution of pear blight (fire blight) by bees, some even going so far as to advocate preventing the keeping of bees in the vicinity of orchards, the claim being made that the bees are very largely responsible for the distribution of blight. That bees are so responsible, no one can question. However, the destruction of the bees would result undoubtedly in infinitely more harm than good, as they are responsible for the pollination of the apple. Without them there would be little setting of fruit. It is necessary therefore that the blight problem be solved in another manner. If the orchardists will see to it that the blight is cut out of their orchards as soon as it appears there will be no infection for the bees to distribute. There is no royal road to blight eradication. Constant vigilance and constant work is necessary. Do not try to hold the bee responsible for your own negligence.
“Do not try to hold the bee responsible for your own negligence.”
Orchard management remains a backbone of the Kennewick economy; this story highlights the long-standing tension between agricultural productivity and the unpredictable nature of biological pests.
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