November 2022 - 18

BLUEBERRY
Michigan blueberry growers absorb latest tips
By Gary Pullano
FGN Senior Correspondent
Production strategies were in focus at
Michigan State University's (MSU) first
annual Blueberry Field Day in August at
the Trevor Nichols Research Center near
Fennville, Michigan.
The educational sessions included a
presentation by MSU small fruit educator
Carlos Garcia on major weather factors
affecting pesticide use. Garcia said high
temperatures and low relative humidity
will cause pesticide droplets to evaporate
quickly, drastically reducing their volume
before reaching the target.
" This may reduce the amount of
product deposited on the insect habit,
which will, in turn, reduce the amount of
pesticide deposited and that's needed for
an effective pest control, " Garcia said. " It
may also create pesticide drift that will be
lost in the environment. "
Daily temperatures during the
application affect the persistence of the
insecticide on the target surface, he said.
Insecticides are negatively affected by high
temperatures greater than 85˚ F, he said.
Environmental relative humidity at the
time of application affects the volume of
the spray deposited on the target. He said
low relative humidity reduces droplet
size and the amount of spray deposited
on the target. High humidity increases
the survival rate of small insecticide
droplets reaching the target site, which
positively affects the spray volume and
pesticide efficacy.
Wind velocity also " affects the
deposition of insecticide on the target site
and increases the potential for losing a
portion of the application volume as drift. "
Ana Heck, an MSU apiculture Extension
educator, explained how she is part of an
Michigan State University (MSU) small fruit educator Carlos Garcia, far left, and Sushila Chaudhari, far right, assistant professor in
MSU's Department of Horticulture, were among the presenters at the first annual Blueberry Field Day. Photos: Gary Pullano
effort to develop and deliver programming
and education for small scale beekeepers,
growers and pesticide applicators. Heck
discussed program updates, colony health
resources and examples from the MSU
Extension Apiaries.
In-field presentations
Field day participants moved to
nearby blueberry fields for presentations
that included reviews of irrigation
approaches, spotted wing drosophila
(SWD) strategies, samba wasp trials
for biocontrol of SWD and soil health
requirements, among others.
Sushila Chaudhari, assistant professor
in MSU's Department of Horticulture,
addressed weed control in blueberry fields.
She reported on results of a trial gauging
the performance of Florpyrauxifen-benzyl,
a relatively new active ingredient that
belongs to WSSA (Weed Science Society
Jackie Perkins, manager and research technician in the lab of Michigan State University
professor and Extension specialist Rufus Isaacs, discusses the use of Samba wasps to
control spotted wing drosophila in blueberries.
of America) Group 4 or HRAC (Herbicide
Resistance Action Committee) Group O.
Florpyrauxifen-benzyl is a synthetic auxin
which kills susceptible plants by causing
disruption of growth processes.
Florpyrauxifen-benzyl (Loyant, Corteva
Agriscience) provides adequate control
of red sorrel and horseweed in blueberry
fields, according to a 2021 trial conducted
by Chaudhari. Two sequential applications
and a later-season application caused
higher injury as compared to an earlyseason
application, she said. Similar trials
were conducted this year.
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emergent herbicide that shows activity
in pigweeds, horseweed/marestail,
fleabean, lambsquarters, sowthistle,
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bindweed and sheperspurse, and some
grasses and sedges.
It is currently labeled for selective postemergence
grass, sedge and broadleaf weed
control in rice in the states of Arkansas,
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri,
South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
" It's a new product, not registered at this
time in blueberry, " Chaudhari said. " We
are collecting the data to see if it can be
used in blueberries or not. It's registered in
rice, but not in any specialty crops. "
Chaudhari led Michigan's work that is in
the second year of the trial.
" It's being done through the IR-4
Project, " she said. " The trial is being
conducted at five different locations
throughout the U.S. - one here, one in
New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon
and California. "
The crop protection industry focuses
their efforts on major crops, leaving
specialty crop growers with fewer tools
for effectively managing pests. The
IR-4 Project develops data necessary
for the registration of safe and effective
pest management solutions with the
Environmental Protection Agency.
" (Florpyrauxifen-benzyl) does have
good activity for several of the broadleaf
weeds that are problematic in our specialty
crops, " Chaudhari said. " That's why we
were interested to see if this crop could be
registered for managing weeds. "
Researchers are studying how safe the
product is on the crop, and its ability
to control weeds without affecting the
plantings. The product is exempt from
minimum residue limits due to its
limited toxicity.
" We just need to conduct only efficacy
research and its impact on the crop, " she
said. " The decision is going to be made
on all of the data being collected in the
five locations. We want to see what is a

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November 2022

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