Needs Statement (September)

There exists a need to be able to pollinate insect pollinated crops artificially at scale.

Problem Background (September)

• “Approximately 80% of plants are pollinated by insects.” [link]
• “Due to many factors (climate change, use of pesticides, habitat changes), pollinator populations are steadily declining.” [link]
• “Based on crop yields in 2020, we produce 3-5% less fruit, vegetables, and nuts which results in over 500,000 lives lost each year from insufficient nutrition and related illnesses.” [link]
• “The overall bee colony population is relatively steady because commercial beekeepers split and restock their hives, finding or buying new queens, or even starter packs for colonies, said University of Maryland bee researcher Nathalie Steinhauer, the survey’s lead author. It’s an expensive and time-consuming process.“ [link]
  • When an operation loses more than 50% of its colonies, replacing with splits is not typically feasible as remaining colonies are likely not adequately strong given the high losses
• “Farrar suggests that a rate of 15% winter colony mortality would be economically sustainable by resulting in non-negative profits for a honeybee colony” [link]
• This year, the American bee population has suffered the second deadliest season (a loss of 48%) from 2022-2023. [link]

Our Scope (September)

• Ideally, our solution would be applied to any flowering plant which requires insect pollination, but for the scope of our project, we are just focusing on one crop.
• The crop we have chosen is citrus. This crop was chosen for several reasons
  • We can access it all year around at a local greenhouse
  • Citrus fruit set and production increase significantly with the help of insect (or hand) pollination

Other Crops We Considered (September)

Interview Questions & Answers