LAKETOWN TWP, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, May 25, 2022) – The natural blueberry field of Huyser Farm Park continues to help researchers understand and control the impact of pests on the West Michigan fruit crop. The about 9 acres of blueberry bushes at Huyser Park are unique because no pesticides have been used on them but they have been maintained for decades.
Steve Van Timmeren, a research assistant based at the Trevor Nichols Research Center, 6273 M-89 just west of Fennville, updated the commission about ongoing projects at the 102-acre park at the corner of 64th Street and 142nd Avenue. Research is being conducted by members of the Berry Crops Entomology Laboratory which is led by Dr. Rufus Isaacs in collaboration with other laboratories within the Department of Entomology at MSU.
Van Timmeren and the group have been monitoring the spread of the blueberry stem gall wasp that lays eggs in blueberry shoots, causing a swelling, a nuisance
that can be pruned off. Heavy pruning, though, increases commercial costs, meaning some infested fields have been abandoned.
The researchers have also assessed bee populations in the blueberry fields at Huyser to compare them with populations at commercial farms to study ways to
improve blueberry pollination.
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