diff --git a/src/plugins/sched/backfill/backfill.c b/src/plugins/sched/backfill/backfill.c
index 3fe63bd79294847efbe45b4048d6576961dded88..53c8366fe827e768b1f9237d90b134a6b9b21fef 100644
--- a/src/plugins/sched/backfill/backfill.c
+++ b/src/plugins/sched/backfill/backfill.c
@@ -97,7 +97,11 @@ static pthread_cond_t  term_cond = PTHREAD_COND_INITIALIZER;
 static int max_backfill_job_cnt = 50;
 
 #ifndef BACKFILL_INTERVAL
-#  define BACKFILL_INTERVAL	5
+#  ifdef HAVE_BG
+#    define BACKFILL_INTERVAL	5
+#  else
+#    define BACKFILL_INTERVAL	10
+#  endif
 #endif
 
 /* Set __DEBUG to get detailed logging for this thread without