The University of Wisconsin-Madison received a three-year, $749,832 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program (CFDA #10.310).
The grant will support the development of a pollination management tool and mobile application (WIBee 2.0) to help farmers and agricultural professionals assess wild bee activity and make crop-specific recommendations on honey bee use or reliance on wild pollinators alone. Key deliverables include establishing observation protocols and a "Pollination Service Index" for apples, cranberries, and squashes to measure wild bee visitation rates and their impact on pollen deposition and fruit production. Outreach and training materials will integrate the tool into overall crop management decisions regarding pest control. The work directly addresses AFRI's goal of funding applied research, extension, and education initiatives on food and agricultural sciences.
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