A Guide to Selecting and Using Pesticides During the Blueberry Pollination Period: How Can We Reduce Risk to Pollinators?

This publication provides blueberry growers strategies for choosing and applying fungicides and insecticides during bloom so as to minimize harm to pollinators. Insect pollinators, particularly wild and managed bees, are necessary to achieve adequate fruit set in blueberries. Without insect pollinators, berries may form, but they will be significantly smaller and misshapen and will take longer to ripen than bee-pollinated berries. Managed bees, wild bees, and other insect pollinators are susceptible to pesticides, especially when applied during bloom when pollinators are foraging in blueberry fields. Growers thus must balance disease and pest protection with pollinator protection. This publication provides information on the toxicity to pollinators and residual activity of insecticides and fungicides used during blueberry bloom, and strategies for minimizing pollinator exposure.