The Bee’s Knees for Detecting Disease

Fire blight is a serious threat to fruit trees. Now a quick test has been developed at the Vienna University of Technology, which can indicate the danger early - with the help of bees. When blossoms and leaves wilt and turn black, it is usually too late: the plant disease fire blight damages especially apple trees and pear trees, clearing the affected trees is often the only chance left. Within a single season, fire blight can destroy an entire orchard. However, researchers at the Vienna University of Technology together with the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) have now developed a method to detect the disease very quickly. Bees visit many trees at the same time and so they bring the dangerous bacteria back to the hive, where a test station is located. A genetic test, tailor-made to detect fire blight DNA, then reveals if an imminent fire blight danger actually exists.