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Slide 5 of 18
Notes:
After WWII seed yields jumped dramatically, more than
doubling, from an average of less than 200 lbs. per acre to over 500 lbs. per
acre. Some growers reported yields as high as 2,000 lbs. per acre.
A bee management industry developed in the northwest as researchers worked out
the biology of the bees;
and in collaboration with growers and entrepreneurs, created artificial nests,
management techniques for nest parasites, and related equipment. The alfalfa
leafcutting bee proved to be easy to manipulate, and is now the dominant
pollinator in Northwestern states.