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You Can’t Keep a Good Berry Down

The Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America has “restarted” after tough times in 2019 and 2020 stalled all Institute business. AlthougRead More...
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Saskatoon Berries, like many other common foods, contain cyanide

POSTED IN For Consumers, For Members ON 8/9/2016

The topic of cyanide is not often associated with food consumption, but we have received questions from readers, so the following is an effort to pull together Apple Cyanidevarious sources for those interested in learning more. This is not common dinner table conversation material, but if you are interested in this topic, we hope that you will find this helpful.
 
Saskatoons contain cyanogenic glycosides (mostly in the seeds), which can become cyanide. Saskatoons have this in common with a variety of other popular fruits such as apples, cherries, apricots, peaches and plums, as well as lima beans, spinach, soy, barley, flaxseed, cassava, bamboo shoots and almonds. As a non-scientist, the big question in my mind is whether it is present at a harmful level. Many people who have been eating saskatoons for a life time show little concern. Whether their viewpoint is based on knowledge or ignorance is, I suppose, the core question.
 
Peach Nectarine Apricot CherryCyanide gas also exists in cigarette smoke, the manufacture and burning of plastics, and the film development process. We are not aware of any case where these processes have ever resulted in cyanide-based illness, nor do we encourage the general public to experiment with these situations. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention provides some material at http://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/cyanide/basics/facts.asp. This site shares a great deal of content with the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry and the National Terror Alert Response Center.
 
Processed forms of cyanide have been used as deadly poisons at various times in world history. While those consequences should not be ignored or whitewashed, they do not represent cases of ‘accidental’ poisoning. It is true that many common substances, when processed and/or concentrated and/or consumed in vast quantities, can kill, including water.
 
We do not have a nutritionist on staff here, so cannot provide our own authoritative answer regarding the risks involved in eating saskatoons, but others have addressed this question in the past, and we list the sources we know about in this article.
 
Cornell Cooperative Extension in New York had this topic come up, and provided some feedback at: http://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2011/10/03/juneberries-–-they-go-where-blueberries-can’t/ Please note that “Juneberry” is the name that many New Yorkers use for Saskatoons. This article is packed with good information. Arsenic is covered in the comments below the article, particularly in response numbers 17-19.
 
It would appear that the way the cells in the body metabolize cyanide is key. Some sources look to cyanide as a cancer killer, as does this article: http://www.naturalnews.com/035554_laetrile_cancer_cure_cyanide.html Others say that the healthy cells in the body have little to no trouble cleansing out the cyanide consumed in a ‘normal’ daily diet.
 
Cooking can change the chemical equation of cyanide, so the answers for raw and prepared foods are a bit different. The following article, while not written about saskatoons, refers to the relationship between arsenic and heat: http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/food/are-stone-fruit-seeds-poisonous.
 
To date, we are not aware of any otherwise healthy person becoming sick from saskatoons, or apples, or cherries (or any of the other foods listed above), because of naturally occurring cyanide, when they were eating a near normal quantity in their diet.
 
We continue to look for information on this question, and welcome your data-based feedback.

How Rainfast Are Your Applications?

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 7/22/2016

Growers can take steps to take care of their bushes, but how rainfast are your efforts?

Screen Shot 2016-07-22 at 11.25.26 AMAs growers know, pesticides are a double-edged sword. One wants to provide as much good fruit as possible to customers (who among us likes to eat damaged fruit?) while, at the same time, assuring that the fruit is healthy for consumption. Of course this is not a simple calculation. Atmospheric conditions, including rain, wind and temperatures need to be factored in – a factoring that sometimes needs occur daily as the weather changes.

Then there are the variables for different types of treatments, because not all treatments have the same characteristics regarding weather. And, off course, application methods must be considered, a challenge even for the most experienced.

So here are two resources that you may find helpful in your planning:

Rainfast Characteristics of Insecticides on Fruit from John Wise, Michigan State University Extension, Department of Entomology

Minimum Interval From Application to Rainfall for Post Herbicides provided by Sims Fertilizer and Chemical, Osborne, KS

Have You Figured Out When to Water?

POSTED IN For Growers ON 7/22/2016

It’s Friday, and that means its the day each week when I will water the office plants. Why on Fridays?  Why not?  Of course, I am not building a commercial food empire with the window full of greenery here.

How about you? Do you have a plan for when to irrigate your saskatoons? What is your plan based on?

thumbMichigan State University/Purdue Extension Irrigation Educator highlights resources available for fine tuning your irrigation schedule.

When should you start irrigation?

How much water should you add? 

What resources are available to help decide when and how to water?  

Check out this article to see how you might tune up your irrigation schedule and improve your harvest:

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/irrigation_scheduling_tools_provided_by_purdue_and_msu_extension?utm_source=Organic+Ag+-+MSU+Extension+News+-+07-21-16&utm_campaign=Organic+Ag+07-21-16&utm_medium=email

 

 

How to Save More Berries From The Birds

POSTED IN For Growers ON 7/14/2016

Struggling with bird management? Kathy Heidenreich of Cornell University published an article a

Research Support Specialist/Plant Pathologist New York State Agricultural Experiment Station-Cornell University Department of Plant Pathology

Cathy Heidenreich, Research Support Specialist/Plant Pathologist
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station-Cornell University
Department of Plant Pathology

few years ago that many saskatoon growers may find helpful. This document lists and review common fruit eating birds as well as a variety of bird management tactics. The goal is to reduce loss in commercial fruit fields while avoiding any sort of injury to the birds.

Too see the full article go to Bye Bye Birdie – Cornell

“Novel Berry Crops” Grant for MSU Research

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 7/3/2016

Saskatoon berries, goji berries, honeyberries, aronia berries — unfamiliar names to Michigan growers and consumers, but perhaps not for long. Michigan State University is about to launch studies on these novel berry crops, looking for the best varieties of these berries for the state’s climate, soils and marketing opportunities.

Screen Shot 2013-07-02 at 8.07.32 AM

Saskatoon berries

Saskatoons are the best known of these crops in North America, with over two million pounds produced annually in Canada. The various named varieties were derived from wild selections of Amelanchier alnifolia, a shrub native to several western states and Canadian provinces.

Saskatoons are closely related to the Juneberry or Serviceberry of eastern North America. They look very much like blueberries in appearance, but their flavor is uniquely different (some call it sweet nutty almond). Unlike blueberries that can only be grown on acidic soils, saskatoon berries can tolerate a wider range of soils in the neutral to alkaline range.

Saskatoons ripen earlier than most blueberries and are excellent eaten fresh or in pies, jellies, jams, syrups and wine. Human health benefits are associated with their high contents of phenolics, flavonols and anthocyanins.

Michigan currently is the leading producer of saskatoons in the United States, even though there are fewer than 20 acres in full production in the state.

Dr. Erwin "Duke" Elsner, PhD

Erwin “Duke” Elsner, PhD

About as many more acres will be reaching productive age in a short time. A team of Michigan State University campusfaculty and field staff recently received grant funding for a saskatoon berry variety trial to be conducted at four sites in the state. The sites are at Traverse City, East Lansing at the MSU Horticulture Teaching and Research Farm, Bay Mills in Chippewa County and the Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center in Alger County.

Six promising varieties will be tested at each site. Each of these sites also will have a small variety trial of eight honeyberry, five goji berry and two aronia berry varieties. All of these berry crops are known to be very cold tolerant, so we are expecting good survival and fruiting almost anywhere in Michigan.

Honeyberry/Haskap

Honeyberry/Haskap

Honeyberries (Lonicera caerulea), also known as haskaps, are native to northern Europe, Asia and North America.

Plants are adapted to many soils and produce small, elongated blue berries that are typically sweet and mild. Their flavor lies somewhere between blueberries and raspberries.

Goji berries

Goji berries

 

Goji is a traditional Chinese berry that is increasingly in demand globally for perceived medicinal properties. This fruit is a member of the Solanaceae family and it has a mild tomato-like flavor.

Demand in the U.S. and globally has exploded because of perceived health benefits.

Aronia+cluster+and+leaves

Aronia/Black Chokeberry

Aronia or black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) is a Rosaceae species native to North America and Europe. It is widely grown in Eastern Europe and Russia. The fruit primarily is used for juice, but blended with juice from other less astringent fruits. Aronia has a very high anti-oxidant content.

Saskatoon berries soon will be ripening in the Grand Traverse region. Listings of growers offering U-pick berries and other saskatoon products can be found in the calendar of events page of the Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America’s web site: https://saskatoonberryinstitute.org/events.

Erwin “Duke” Elsner is a small fruit educator for the Grand Traverse County MSU Extension.

To see this article on The Record Eagle website regarding the Novel berry Crops grant, go to: http://www.record-eagle.com/news/business/agriculture-forum-studies-to-launch-on-novel-berry-crops/article_929e37d7-6738-5278-a73d-7a97d5689e39.html

The Saskatoon Berries Are Here!

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 7/1/2016

Fresh 2016 Saskatoon Berries are now available in northern Michigan, for a limited time only. The season is expected to last 2-3 weeks. Don’t miss out!

You can  find fresh berries at both of Oleson’s Food Markets (Traverse City locations only), The Village Markets in Elk Rapids and Rapid City as well as Evergreen Market on US 31 north of Acme.

Screen Shot 2014-07-08 at 9.52.10 AM

Screen Shot 2014-07-09 at 7.53.06 PM

Screen Shot 2016-07-01 at 11.57.25 AM

You can also buy fresh saskatoons at the Elk Rapids Farmers Market on Friday mornings for the next couple of weeks, along with saskatoon jam and pie fillings.

U-Pick is now available at Jacob’s Farm, The Saskatoon Berry Patch and Saskatoon Michigan. Locations and hours can be viewed at our Events page at: https://saskatoonberryinstitute.org/events/. Other locations will be added as we learn of them.

Fresh berries are great to eat by the handful as well as on cereal and ice cream. They are also a great baking and jamming fruit.

There is really nothing else quite like a saskatoon berry. They look rather like blueberries, but they are much more closely associated with apples. They have a nutty almond-like flavor, and they are packed with nutrients as well as fiber, protein and antioxidants.

You can buy saskatoon berries now and freeze them, but you cannot buy them fresh after about the end of the month. This fruit is locally grown, but cannot grow in Mexico or southern California, so it is a summer only fruit. Don’t hesitate. Come to one of the locations shown above or visit other businesses or wild bushes and get yours today!

Apple curculio and saksatoons

POSTED IN For Growers ON 6/3/2016

Apple curculio are making their  appearance as most sites are in petal fall. Insect activity has really picked up due to recent warm weather. Sweep net samples at the research center planting caught saskatoon sawflies (lower numbers than last week), apple curculio (first detection this year), tarnished plant bug, leaf-feeding weevils and several types of small moth caterpillars. There were also many beneficials in the sampling—spiders and parasitoid wasps. Unfortunately the threat of fruit losses from sawflies and curculios outweigh the current value of the beneficials, so it is advisable to protect the fruit with an insecticide at this time. Avaunt, Actara and Assail are likely to be the best choices where apple curculio is known to be a problem. It is also time to start protecting fruits from rust and entomosporium spot disease, especially with the threat of rain later this week. Tilt or Quilt Xcel, if not already used this year, would be good choices now. These have a 30 day PHI, so they do not fit well in your disease management program after we get into June.

Apple curculio are a risk in saskatoons

Apple curculio on saskatoon berry

Note the size of the Apple curculio in this sasatkoon berry

Apple curculio damage on saskatoon berries

Apple curculio adults are small and easily overlooked. They have tiny jaws at the end or a prolonged snout, which they use for cutting a uniquely shaped egg-laying slit into the surface of berries. The grub stages of the curculio feed inside the fruit.

curculio 3

Larvae can grow inside saskatoon berries

 

Duke Elsner, Small Fruit Educator, Michigan State University Extension   elsner@msu.edu

Frost Damage in Saskatoon Bushes

POSTED IN For Growers ON 5/19/2016

Well, we had quite a chiller go through this past weekend, and some have seen frost damage. While saskatoon bushes are pretty harder throughout the winter, they are a bit more suseptable when they are in blossom. In Northern Michigan they have seen some signs of damage, though not as threatening as with some other crops.

Elsner_Duke_2013_CroppedDr. Erwin ‘Duke” Elsner, Small Fruit Educator with Michigan State University Extension recently helped us understand how to tell if your plant has frost damage, and what to do about it:

Frosted tender leaves will show darkened margins, almost black in color.  The injured tissue doesn’t grow or stretch as the rest of the leaf continues to grow, so the leaves look more crooked or crumpled the season continues.

Lightly frosted flowers just show some browning of the petals.  

Nothing needs to be done to these light frost injured plants. Under most circumstance they will continue to grow and produce this season.

Best wishes to all you growers and harvesters this season.  If you find that you have unusual damage due to cold temperatures, please let us know.

 

Saskatoon Sawfly & Saskatoon Bud Moth

POSTED IN For Growers ON 5/19/2016

 First Documentation of Saskatoon Sawfly in Michigan – May 13, 2016 

Late last week I observed saskatoon sawfly (Hoplocampa montanicola) for the first time in Michigan, at the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Center in Leelanau County. I had suspected that some fruit injury seen at this site in 2015 was due to this insect, and growers had previously reported injury of a similar nature, but this was the first time the insects have actually been found. 

saskatoon sawflyAdult saskatoon sawfly 

Adults of the saskatoon sawfly were plentiful (more than ten on a bush at some times) and very actively flying amongst the flower clusters (plants were at approximately 50% bloom at the time). Although I observed the sawflies for some time, I was not able to actually see one attempt to lay eggs. Based on what I have gathered from Canadian references, the egg laying behavior might not start until the flower ovaries start to swell after fruit set. Good pictures of the egg laying scars, larva and fruit damage can be seen at http://www.prairie-elements.ca/saskatoon/11.2-insects1.pdf. The potential threat for fruit losses in Michigan has not been determined, but this pest is an important one in Alberta and Manitoba. 

Saskatoon sawfly is not listed in the 2016 Saskatoon Berry Pesticide Recommendations that I released earlier this spring. Based on recommendations made for a related pest of apples in Ontario, sprays of Assail, Altacor or Exirel at petal fall would be the best choice. These are all toxic to bees, so it is important that all bee activity be completed before the application. 

Larvae of Saskatoon Bud Moth Now Active 

On the same date and location I also noted the first larvae of saskatoon bud moth (Epinotia bicordana) for the season. Small larvae, a little over 0.25 inches in length, were feeding inside nests of tender leaves they had webbed together with silk. They must have been active here much earlier, as their first feeding of the year occurs as they bore into the bases of swelling buds. They were not numerous, so the early feeding on buds would likely have been very hard to detect. According to Canadian literature, the development and feeding of the larvae is 

completed by the time of petal fall; the early season feeding inside buds is the damaging time as it can kill entire buds or injure some of the flowers. The later feeding on leaves is of no consequence to production. The importance of saskatoon bud moth to production in Michigan is uncertain. It is too late this year for sprays to reduce bud injury or fruit loss. 

Curled leaves from saskatoon bud mothSaskatoon Bud Moth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaves tied together by saskatoon bud moth larvae (left), and close up of a larva (right). 

 

 

 

Duke Elsner, Small Fruit Educator, Michigan State University Extension elsner@msu.edu 

Saskatoon Growers Education Tour 2016

POSTED IN For Growers ON 5/16/2016

SASKATOON GROWERS EDUCATION TOUR

JUNE 17, 2016

Saskatoon Growers Education TourThe day’s agenda is as follows (for mapping information, click on any location shown below):

 

8:15 AM        MEET AT JACOB’S FARM, M-72 WEST

                        (Coffee and Saskatoon muffins)

                        (RESOURCE PERSON: DR ERWIN DUKE ELSNER)

  • PRUNING METHODS
  • PESTS
  • CARING FOR OLDER PLANTS
  • COMPARING VARIETIES

 

10:00 AM      MEET AT JIM DIXON’S FARM, ACME

                        (RESOURCE PERSON: JIM DIXON)

  • CARE OF YOUNG BEARING PLANTS
  • COMPARING VARIETIES
  • FUTURE MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES

 

11:00 AM      MEET AT DUCHENEY’S NEW PLANTING

                        (RESOURCE PERSON: STEVE DUCHENEY)

  • TIPS ON PLANTING NEW STOCK
  • CARING FOR YOUNG PLANTS
  • OUTLOOK FOR PLANTING STOCK
  • IMPACT OF MULCHING

 

12:30 PM      MEET FOR LUNCH TO SHARE WITH OTHERS

  • MR C’S, M-72, WILLIAMSBURG

You Can’t Keep a Good Berry Down

POSTED IN For Growers, For Members ON 3/17/2021

The Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America has “restarted” after tough times in 2019 and 2020 stalled all Institute business.

Although saskatoon berries are a very minor fruit crop in Michigan, with less than 100 acres, Michigan is the home of the Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America.  The Institute has been in existence since 2012, providing information and assistance to growers and marketers in Michigan, other states, and Canada (where the greatest amount of saskatoon berry production occurs).  As with many small organizations, keeping things running is difficult, and it got even harder after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.  The Institute held no public events in 2019 and 2020, and the board of the Institute simply retained their posts over these years, as no elections were held.    

In late 2020 the board renewed activities with hope that 2021 would be a better year.  The annual membership meeting of the Institute was held on-line on January 21, 2021.  Although attendance was low, important business was conducted.  A.J. MacArthur, a grower from Lachine, Michigan, was selected to be the new president of the Institute.  The board decided that anyone who held a paid membership in 2019, the last year that membership fees were collected, will be granted paid member status for the year 2021.  

If you have an interest in learning more about saskatoon berries, growing this fruit or the activities of the Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America, visit their web site at  https://saskatoonberryinstitute.org/ or contact me at elsner@msu.edu.

 

Submitted by

Duke Elsner, Small Fruit Extension Educator (Retired), Michigan State University

Wildlife Damage Survey

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 9/13/2019

Looking for commercial crop growers with experience in wildlife crop damage.

This online survey will help develop a picture of where and how the damage is occurring, and seek to find ways to reduce and/or prevent damage in future years.

You can read more at: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/msu-seeks-farmer-input-on-wildlife-damage-to-crops

And you can take the survey at: https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bxRIhLjhPa5EkuN

The PM who Promoted Saskatoon Berries

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 7/24/2019

This Institute is not a political organization. As a group we do not promote any party or candidate.

Now that one campaign is over, we thought you might like to know that the newly sworn in Prime Minister of Great Britain played a key role in the future of saskatoons in the previous decade.  You can learn more here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatoon-berries-boris-johnson-1.5222637

Saska-whats?

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 7/17/2019

The attached news story, from Elk Rapids News, is about  saskatoons, and then about two of the founding members of the Institute, and how they continue to introduce people to this wonderful tasting superfruit.

This is the time to get out there and pick some.  In a few weeks the worldwide fresh saskatoon supply will be exhausted.  

Take the family!  Take your friends! Join the adventure!

Saska-whats?

 

Stone Fruit IPM for Beginners

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 6/29/2019

Have you developed a Integrate Pest Management program for your orchard?

If not, this resource is likely to be helpful in thinking through the various considerations: https://www.canr.msu.edu/ipm/agriculture/fruit/stone-fruit-ipm-for-beginners

Many saskatoon growers also grow a variety of other fruits and vegetables, and attempt to juggle the common challenges, as well as the unique challenges of each crop. In this environment, understanding which pests will spread from their ‘preferred’ diet to other crops, and which new arrivals will threaten which crops, can be quite complex.

While many call the fruit ‘saskatoon berries’, saskatoons are actually a pome fruit, like apples and pears. Stone fruits includes single pit fruit, such as peaches, plums, cherries, mangoes and almonds. Even with this difference, pome fruit and stone fruit have some common pests.

This referenced document is not a complete manual on how to handles pests, but whether you are new to this approach, or are still willing to learn more, a review of the document is likely to provide some seeds for further thought.

Bird Damage Management

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 6/29/2019

Here are a couple of recommendations from saskatoon growers to help reduce bird damage to otherwise harvestable saskatoon crops:

  1. Netting: After  few years of significant bird loss, Jacques Orchards did a trial plot of bird netting last year. They were so pleased that they covered the orchard this year (adding the lesson learned about making sure that the netting touched the ground all the way around). This year things are looking very good. The photo below shows what they netting looks like.  It can be removed for partial harvest, and then the bushes can be covered again until later in the season.
Net Over Saskatoon Bushes

2. Helpful Birds: Encouraging Kingbirds can be a great option.  Kingbirds eat insects, but not much fruit, and they are scrappy, so often scare off other birds, including flocking birds, that want your saskatoons as their entree, over and over again.

There are 2 identified types of Kingbirds: western and eastern.

Learn more about Kingbirds at: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Kingbird/overview

Kestrel Hawks are another option: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel

By providing an appropriate habitat, you may be able to entice these preferred neighbors.

Industry Survey Deadline Quickly Approaches

POSTED IN For Consumers, For Growers, For Members ON 6/6/2019

The Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America is reaching out to nearly 300 farms that grow saskatoons for sale. These farms are located throughout Canada and the United States. With the results of this survey the Institute expects to identify: 1) industry wide production expectations for 2019, 2) existing distribution options for harvested saskatoons, 3) issues that most challenge growers, and 4) changes regarding industry players and production since our last survey in 2015. The outcome will be a report entitled The State of the Saskatoon Berry Industry, 2019. 

Each grower that completes and submits their survey will receive a copy of the complied report.

The deadline for farms to participate in the Saskatoon Growers Survey is Saturday, June 8, 2019.

2019 is shaping up to be a bumper crop for saskatoons. We have not yet received any reports of crop loss due to weather or other naturally occurring conditions.

If you are a grower, and have not yet received the survey, please click on Contact Us and request a copy of the survey. Please be sure to include your e-mail address in your communication.

If you are a consumer, and hope to acquire some saskatoons of your own later this summer, please click on Calendar to find a listing, by date, of availability in your area. Please note that many of our Institute members will not post their status until about 2 weeks before their fruit is ripe, so you may need to check in every week or two until your region has ripening fruit. Ripening dates vary by geographic region, so it would be unusual to see all growers posted on the same dates. Generally fruit is available in more southern areas as soon as early July, and in more northerly climates as late as mid-August.

 

About Saskatoons (also called Juneberries or Pacific serviceberries in some locations): Saskatoons (sometimes with the addition of the word berries) are a fruit that comes from Amelanchier alnifolia plants. While some suggest that saskatoons look like blueberries, they are actually a unique fruit with a very dark purple color (high in antioxidants), more firm that many berries, with a tangier, almost nutty taste.  Saskatoons are part of the Rosaceae family. Its close relatives include many common fruits such as apples, plums, cherries, apricots and almonds. Saskatoons are great to eat fresh as well as baked. Some of the harvest is used to infuse wine and other alcoholic beverages. While hard to find in processed forms, they are also sought after in juice and powder forms. In some locations consumers buy find them frozen as well as dried.

 

About The Saskatoon Berry Institute of North America: SBINA is an educational organization, both for growers and consumers. We neither buy or sell fruit or plants. Our goal is to see greater crop availability leading to more saskatoons being enjoyed throughout North America.

The Annual Meeting is Upon Us

POSTED IN For Members, Uncategorized ON 1/16/2019

Our annual meeting is tomorrow – Thursday, January 17 (and all are welcome). Please be sure to RSVP to Dr. Elsner at elsner@msu.edu so he can plan accordingly.

By way of reminder:

Location is Grand Traverse County Michigan State University Extension Office, 520 West Front Street, Traverse City, MI, 49684.

Social time from 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM.

Official Annual Meeting begins at 7:00 PM.

Among other procedural items, the agenda will include our annual election of board members and a presentation by Duke Elsner entitled “Looking Back and Heading Forward- the MSU Connection”.

This is a great opportunity to meet growers, review lessons learned over the past year, and talk about what is coming up in 2019.

Northwest Michigan Orchard and Vineyard Show – 2019

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 1/4/2019

The Northwest Michigan Orchard and Vineyard Show is coming up on January 15th & 16, 2019 at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Northern Michigan. Come see us at our trade show booth! Let’s talk saskatoons.

For more information on the show, go to: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/events/2019_northwest_michigan_orchard_and_vineyard_show

Annual Meeting Scheduled

POSTED IN Uncategorized ON 12/18/2018

Attention: Institute Members

Our annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 17th. 

This is not your official notification – just a head’s up.

We will meet at the conference room at Michigan State University Extension in Traverse City. 

Bring a saskatoon snack to share at 6:00 PM. The official meeting will comet to order at 7:00 PM with election of 2019 board members and a presentation on lessons learned over the last year.


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Recent Posts

  • You Can’t Keep a Good Berry Down
  • Wildlife Damage Survey
  • The PM who Promoted Saskatoon Berries
  • Saska-whats?
  • Stone Fruit IPM for Beginners

Recent Comments

  • Chuck on Spring Pruning of Saskatoon Bushes
  • David on Spring Pruning of Saskatoon Bushes
  • Chuck on 2018 Saskatoon Pesticide Recommendation and Use Restrictions for The State of Michigan
  • SANDRA VOLS on 2018 Saskatoon Pesticide Recommendation and Use Restrictions for The State of Michigan
  • Chuck on Saskatoons (Amelanchier alnifolia) at the Great Lakes Expo 2017

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