EAST LANSING, Mich. – Research is being launched on the ability of vision guided sprayers to control weeds in blueberry fields with less time and fewer chemicals.

The budding effort by the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University stems from an $18,000 grant awarded recently from the Michigan Blueberry Commission (MBC).

Kevin Robson, executive director of the MBC, said more efficient weed control would help growers in what’s become a more competitive global industry over the years. “Margins in farming are so tight that every little bit matters,” he said.

Robson said fewer herbicides also mean a healthier environment.

Vision guided sprayers using sensors and a camera are able to identify areas that need and don’t need to be sprayed with chemicals or fertilizer. Applications from the sprayer to targeted areas, if necessary, are done automatically.

However, the accuracy of the devices used already with limited success in raising fruit such as apples, cherries and oranges can be negatively impacted by elements such as temperature, light and distance.

 The technology has become more advanced, though, making it a cost efficiency option in blueberry fields worth exploring, said Sushila Chaudhari, an assistant professor of horticulture at MSU leading the study.

“With these vision guided sprayers entering the commercial markets, it is very critical to have research data to help blueberry growers decide if and how to incorporate this novel technique into their programs,” she said.

“It’s a new concept. There’s still a lot to be known,” Robson said.

Whether accuracy is impacted from blueberry bushes having a different shape with branches lower to the ground will also be part of the study.

Currently, the same amount of herbicide is sprayed around blueberry bushes to control the growth of weeds. Weeds stunt the growth of plants by competing for water and nutrients. The desire is to maintain effective weed control by using herbicide strictly on bushes that have dense enough weed growth.

“Let’s do it more site specific,” Robson said.

He said efficiency has become more of a factor in holding down costs as much as possible in a global marketplace. “It’s no longer competing with the grower down the street or in the neighboring county. It’s competing with that grower in Chile, Peru and Mexico. We have to do so many things to continue to sharpen our skill set and hone in on our margins if we still want to be in the blueberry business,” he said.

He’s hoping the research starts producing results by December.

Robson said weed control is especially critical in his industry largely because weeds do exceptionally well in the acidic, nutrient rich mucky soil where blueberries also thrive. “It’s a perfect storm,” he said.

Chaudhari said another objective is determining if vision guided sprayers improve the safety of the plant. She said traditional sprayers can result in overuse of herbicides which can cause substantial injury to blueberry bushes.

According to USDA, Georgia was first for acres of blueberries harvested in 2019 at 21,700 followed by Michigan with 20,600 acres.

Washington was first for production with more than 162 million pounds of blueberries harvested in 2019 followed by Oregon and Georgia. Michigan ranked fourth in production with more than 84 million pounds of harvested blueberries. California was fifth at more than 71 million pounds of blueberries produced, according to USDA.

Robson said most of the blueberries in Michigan are grown in the southwest corner and west side of the state.

Pollinating for blueberries in Michigan will begin soon with picking scheduled to last from July to the middle of September, he said.