[en] Using mass spectrometry we have confirmed that Sr2+ ions are produced from laser-populated Rydberg states by the associative ionization process Sr(5snl)+Sr(5s2) →Sr2++e-. Dimer ion signal was detected for the 5s6d3D2 level, indicating that the binding energy of Sr2+ exceeds 0.77 eV. We have observed that under certain conditions the Rydberg states are destroyed by electron-impact ionization before an associative ionization collision can occur