Apr 19, 2017

Saskatoon berry pesticide recommendations available from MSU

Saskatoon berries, sometimes referred to as Juneberries, have been grown on a commercial scale in Michigan for only a few years. However, this has been long enough to learn which pests and diseases are real threats to production.

Recent studies have shown that a great deal of crop damage can be caused by apple curculio and saskatoon sawfly. The larval stages of these insects feed inside the developing berries, resulting in fruit losses or the presence of insects inside fruits at harvest.

Since saskatoons are a new and very minor crop in the United States, there are relatively few pesticides registered for use on the crop. Even for products that are registered, there is limited information on the efficacy of the active ingredients against specific saskatoon pests. Therefore, the recommendations are based largely on how well the pesticides are known to work on related pest species on other fruit crops.

Anyone interested in receiving the 2017 saskatoon berry pesticide recommendations may contact Duke Elsner via email at [email protected].

For more information, visit www.msue.msu.edu.