Why 1/2 Mile Separation Between Un-bagged Tobacco Varieties?

[deluxestogie]

Among the primary insect pollinators of tobacco is the large family of moths, which includes among others the hornworm moths, budworm moths and army worm moths--each group comprised of several species. Cross-pollination studies of tobacco have demonstrated that un-bagged tobacco can cross with other varieties when grown with a separation of up to 1/2 mile.

A new study, which included mathematical modeling and direct experimentation of insect pheromone detection in turbulent air has clarified that separation distance.

...pheromones emitted by female moths can be perceived by males located within a so-called "cone of detection" extending downstream as far as 1,000 meters away. They also found that pheromone signals are most commonly detected as intermittent "whiffs" that last only a few milliseconds, interspersed with periods below the insects' sensitivity threshold, which last from few milliseconds to tens of seconds.

Vergassola, who was initially trained in statistical physics and now works at the intersection of biology and physics in a mathematical discipline called "quantitative biology," said the results could also be applied widely in agriculture...

http://phys.org/news/2014-10-physicists-longstanding-puzzle-moths-distant.html

One thousand meters converts to 0.62 miles. So, in tobacco that is visited by any variety of moth which feeds on the nectar of tobacco blossoms, open-pollinated varieties should be separated by at least 1/2 mile.

Bob

 

[ArizonaDave]

Well, we have the giant moth problem here, but I'm bagging mine for seed.

 

[DGBAMA]

The science behind the recommendation, nice to know the WHY.

 

[Cigar]

hey ArizonaDave..if that dont work I know person might be able to help with your seed needs!!

Cigar

 

[Knucklehead]

I'm wondering why the recommendation is only a half mile when honey bees have a working radius of three miles?

 

[Bex]

I wonder if tobacco hybrids are sterile. As I blend my tobacco, it would be cool to have the two types of tobacco I use cross pollinated, so that the resulting seed/plant is actually the blend that I like.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I'm wondering why the recommendation is only a half mile when honey bees have a working radius of three miles?

I don't think honey bees work tobacco pollen.... but I am not positive

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm wondering why the recommendation is only a half mile when honey bees have a working radius of three miles?

That is an excellent question.

I have a neighbor with several stacks of honeybee hives. I have a two wild honeybee hives on my property. I have never witnessed honeybees on the tobacco blossoms--only stuporous honeybees on the leaf surfaces. I have seen bumblebees at the blossoms. How widely do bumblebees forage?

It appears that in open areas of floral resources, bumblebees of various species don't travel very far, and visit the same sites faithfully. By contrast, primarily forested areas may induce bumblebees to engage in foraging as far as 2 miles or more, in order to reach floral stands.

Many plant species with long corollas are mainly visited and successfully pollinated by long-tongued bumble bee species.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0005574

Maximum foraging distance between nesting site and food patch was 150–600 m for the 16 bee species examined.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...ionid=CF061315F099271237918997B41CE59B.f03t01

In accordance with previous studies, minimum estimated maximum foraging range was greatest for B. terrestris (758 m) and least for B. pascuorum (449 m). The estimate for B. lapidarius was similar to B. pascuorum (450 m), while that of B. pratorum was intermediate (674 m).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?...st density of four bumblebee (Bombus) species.

My take on this is that honeybees are not a significant tobacco pollinator, but that bumblebees are. In primarily agricultural areas, the foraging range is less than 1/2 mile, whereas in primarily forested areas, bumblebees may easily exceed the 1/2 mile limit. A general recommendation would be to bag all tobacco that is intended for seed production.

Bob

 

[istanbulin]

An entomologist from NCSU made an experiment on tobacco honey.

These (five) hives were placed near a 1.2 acre plot of tobacco plants belonging to Ramsey Lewis, NC State tobacco breeder, who is selecting for black shank disease resistance. The plants will not be harvested or topped.

Result;

The bees didn’t make any honey in the month they were next to the tobacco field. Bees can forage long distances, but this early experiment wasn’t promising.

http://www.nccrops.com/2012/07/20/can-we-make-tobacco-honey/

 

[deluxestogie]

So, even a plant geneticist needs to know about the birds and the bees.

Bob

 

[JessicaNicot]

I've never seen honeybees on tobacco, and there are studies with varying degrees of support that suggest that neonicitinoid (synthetic nicotine-like) pesticides are contributing to the decline in honeybees. however, I have seen at least two other types of bees on our tobacco here. large ones (maybe wood bees) not involved in pollination because they pierce the back of the flowers since they are too big to crawl in and smaller ones that are active pollinators. And let's not forget about hummingbirds who must be getting some amount of pollen on their beaks and faces.