MDAR 2025 State Pesticide Use Report is due June 1, 2026. MDAR requires all pesticide certified applicators to submit annual reports detailing the quantities of all pesticides used. Paper forms are no longer used, so you must complete the online form. Here is the link: https://www.mass.gov/how-to/use-and-pesticide-dealer-sales-reporting
Insects. Most bogs are still experiencing low-to-no insect pressure this spring, including weevil and spanworm. However, there are the exceptions with one site reporting a weevil count at 100 and a few sites reporting counts between 10-20. Growers report they want to save their Fanfare for the future, but keep in mind that many handlers have a 100-day PHI for export fruit! As Henry Franklin said “spray for a reason” so if you are not finding any bugs, you may not have to spray this spring season!
Where leafhoppers and black bug are found, they are still very small. Blunt nosed leafhoppers are 1st instar nymphs and most black bugs are still tiny yellow “race car” 1st instar nymphs. The next stage of black bug – green – can be found but is pretty rare.
Green Spanworm are being found at a range of sizes, from tiny to medium to full size (ready to pupate) but again, fairly rare and not enough to warrant treating. The action threshold is 18 spanworm per sweep set. We have seen the return of a few cutworms, false armyworm, blossomworm and humped green fruitworm, but only 1 here and there, and most are pretty big now (~1”).
Commercial bumblebees from Koppert are expected to arrive on June 9 or 10! Migratory honeybees will likely start trickling in the shortly thereafter. Some early hybrids are starting to see hook and a bit of bloom!
Other Information. Some tank mix combinations of products within the same class (such as mixing Intensity One + Callisto) are routinely used without issues, but we don’t have a lot of experience mixing most cranberry compounds together – especially those from different classes (such as mixing a fungicide + herbicide, etc.).
It is likely that many things we use are compatible, but there have been instances where issues have happened. A few years back we had a case where tank mixing an herbicide and an insecticide caused a total failure of the insecticide.
Some pesticide labels have info on known mixing partners and mixing problems. HPPD inhibitor herbicides like Callisto are known to cause crop injury if you mix them with organophosphates like Diazinon or carbamates like Sevin – injury can even happen if you these in sequence too closely together!
Avoid mixing compounds you aren’t sure about, and if you are experimenting with mixing compounds – use caution, start small, and let us know about your experiences.