MSU Extension hosts fifth annual Blueberry Research Field Day
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EmailJoin Michigan State University Extension for a blueberry-focused event on September 9 in Fennville.
On Wednesday, September 9, 2026, the Michigan State University Extension blueberry team will host their fifth annual field day at Trevor Nichol’s Research Center in Fennville, Michigan, from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. The event is free for attendees and will include lunch at 11:30 and light refreshments during the day.
This event will be packed with hands-on educational content focused on commercial blueberry producers. Presentations by experts from campus and around the state will join us to share their knowledge and what they have been working on for the past few seasons. The emphasis will be on outdoor demonstration/presentation of information.
The day will include updates from the Northern Highbush variety trial with Joshua VanderWeide, learning about irrigation timing with our irrigation specialists Younsuk Dong and Brenden Kelley, and a demonstration of soft robots for blueberry harvesting with Xiaobo Tan. The program will also include blueberry researchers Tim Miles talking about new control options for stem blight, Rufus Isaacs discussing insect trials at TNRC and Steve Van Timmeren talking about overhead cooling to protect pollination.
Other topics will include horticultural factors influencing blueberry rots and updates on SWD and nematode research. 3 RUP credits will be offered for the event.
Registration is free but is required to ensure we can provide enough food, transportation and handouts.
Registration cutoff is September 7, so please register today. If you have any questions, please reach out to Cheyenne Sloan (sloanche@msu.edu) or Carlos Garcia Salazar (garcias4@msu.edu).
Agenda
Sign-in – 11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Lunch – 12:00- 1:00 p.m.
Outdoor Hands-On Activities – 1:00-4:00 p.m.
