MSU Leads USDA Study to Help Keep Pollinating Insects Near Crops

Farmers looking at how to plant crops in sequence that encourages pollination

Albert Einstein is often credited with the phrase “No more bees… no more pollination… no more plants… no more animals… no more man.”  Einstein didn’t actually coin that saying. But as honey bee populations have been on the decline in recent years, the phrase has been widely quoted. Michigan State University is the lead organization on a U-S Department of Agriculture study looking at how farmers can mitigate serious problems that have hurt pollinator populations, including bees, and plant crops that attract pollinators. MSU Department of Entomology Professor Rufus Isaacs is in charge of the study. He tells WDET’s Amy Miller that humans are not at risk of extinction without bees but he says nuts and fruits are dependent on pollinators.

 

Click on the audio link above to hear the entire interview

Author

  • Amy Miller
    Amy has been working in public and commercial radio for the last 30 yrs. She is an award winning reporter and news anchor, born and raised in Detroit.