To help blueberry growers keep abreast with conditions in the field during the growing season, Michigan State University Extension has planned a twilight blueberry management meeting on Tuesday, May 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This meeting is hosted by Dennis VanderKooi at Lakeside Pic & Pac LLC, 7131 W. Olive Rd., Holland, MI  49424 (view map).

Two RUP credits will be available. There is no charge for this meeting with registration at the door. We encourage all blueberry growers to attend this important update. The agenda for the meetings includes:

• Rufus Isaacs, MSU ― Bloom and post-bloom insect control and effective insecticide use.
• Mark Longstroth, MSU Extension ― Using fungicides effectively for blueberry disease control at and after bloom.
• Eric Hanson, MSU ― Bloom and post-bloom weed control.
• Carlos Garcia-Salazar, MSU Extension ― Food Safety Modernization Act update.

For more information, call Judy Hanson at the Ottawa County MSU Extension office at 616-994-4548 or email hanson26@msu.edu.

There is an earlier blueberry meeting scheduled in Van Buren County on May 9. A second pair of blueberry meetings is scheduled for mid-June to focus on preharvest and harvest issues. These preharvest meetings are tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, June 20, in Van Buren County and Wednesday, June 27, in Ottawa County. The site and agendas for the preharvest meetings have not been finalized.

Photo credit: Mark Longstroth, MSU Extension