Treatments to make tart cherries export-ready

As Michigan tart cherry growers grapple with stiff competition from imported products, researchers are exploring how export markets could provide a valuable path forward. While demand abroad may offer new opportunities, reaching those markets requires growers to meet a complex set of standards that often differ significantly from those in the U.S. Among the biggest challenges are stricter maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides and concerns about pest contamination, particularly from spotted wing drosophila (SWD).