Increasing the sustainability of Massachusetts cranberry production through cultural management of the bog habitat

Increasing the sustainability of Massachusetts cranberry production through cultural management of the bog habitat

Summary

The primary goal of this 3-year project is to develop, demonstrate, and implement grower-identified practices on MA cranberry farms that improve water and canopy management to reduce costs and improve pest management. On the grower-team farms, we will introduce low-cost practices with potential to increase fruit quality and contribute to pesticide reduction: pruning (and use as an alternative to sanding), irrigation scheduling, drainage improvement, bed sanitation, and integrated nutrient management. We expect that all of these practices will contribute to a more open, drier canopy and will improve air circulation, decrease duration of wetness events (reducing need for fungicides), improve penetration of biorational pesticides, promote better fruit color, enhance yield, and eliminate or reduce the need for sanding. The project will consist of the following components: initial survey of grower practices; applied research comparing sanding and pruning; on-farm demonstrations of water, canopy, and nutrient management practices, integrated in combinations; on-farm workshops, newsletters, and other educational opportunities; and final project assessment to include a follow-up survey and interviews.

Essential to the success of this endeavor is the reputation of the implementation team – a group of respected, forward-thinking growers who will provide project guidance, demonstration sites, and testimonials regarding what works. They are larger growers (manage >25% of MA acreage) with the resources to conduct on-farm research and the willingness to share results with the small farm operators who make up more than a third of the MA industry. By project’s end, the 5-grower team will have implemented an integrated suite of water and canopy management practices and will have helped an additional 15 growers adopt at least 2 of those practices.

Objectives/Performance Targets

At least 50 Massachusetts cranberry growers/farm managers will participate in on-farm educational opportunities regarding pruning, irrigation scheduling, nutrition management, and drainage enhancement practices. At least 20 of these will adopt two or more of the practices by the end of the project, 5 adopting the entire suite as project designer/participants. In so doing, participants will improve coverage of biopesticides, reduce insect pest refugia in lush vines, improve removal of leaf trash (which harbors disease inoculum), improve air circulation (which lowers fruit rot pressure and reduces need for fungicides), and increase penetration of light (which impacts fruit color and yield). Their farms will be designed and managed efficiently and with minimal environmental impact, both critical factors in long-term sustainability.

This project will contribute to the Northeast SARE outcome statement by demonstrating the effectiveness of easily integrated, low-cost practices, developed based on grower-identified needs. Project beneficiaries will improve the environment on their farms, managing resources wisely in such a way as to reduce the need for pesticides and maximize the effectiveness of those pesticides that must be used, while not sacrificing production.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Original milestones set forth for Year One were:
1) 160 farmers become familiar with the project and its goals by attending a grower meeting and documenting their current practices (completing the pre-survey)
2) 5 farmers (participation team) provide input into the final project design and establish (with the research team) the demonstration plots and replicated research elements on their farms

The project participation team met and discussed project design. At that meeting, we confirmed that the primary components of this project would be 1) sanding; 2) pruning; 3) irrigation scheduling; 4) nutrient management; and 5) drainage. It was agreed that the best way to compare sanding and pruning was in the originally proposed, replicated study of these two practices. To this end, a graduate student, Brett Suhayda has begun a Masters degree under the direction of Dr. Justine Vanden Heuvel. He will carry out this replicated study as part of his degree requirement. The study will be sited at Rocky Pond Bog, a property managed by UMass as a demonstration site.

However, during the meeting, the growers identified the following as the primary question of interest to them regarding these practices: “Can pruning be integrated into sanding cycles in order to reduce the need for sanding?” To answer this question, they will establish pruning demonstrations on their farms as follows: 1) prune ½ of an area sanded two years previously; 2) prune ½ of an area sanded three years previously; or 3) prune ½ of an area sanded four or more years previously. Options to prune in the year of sanding or the year following sanding were not included, since if the two practices accomplish the same thing, and sanding is done on a three-year cycle normally, there would be no need for additional treatment in those years. By tackling all three treatment combinations at multiple sites in each year of the project, at the end of three years we will have multiple repetitions of the following protocols: 1) sand-no treatment-prune; 2) sand-no treatment-no treatment-prune; 3) four or more years since sanding, then prune. The first and second of these protocols would mimic the substitution of pruning in the most common sanding cycles currently used.

Since this project began in the spring of 2005 and our large grower meeting occurs in the winter, we missed the 2005 opportunity to address the large grower audience identified in our milestones. Thus, in January of 2006, we will hold a grower meeting at which we expect attendance of >150 (132 paid registrants as of 12/27/05). The project team will outline the project goals, solicit participants, and administer the project pre-survey during that meeting.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

In April 2005, 22 growers attended a hands-on workshop at the Cranberry Station Farm regarding how to construct a water-level float, a device recommended for use in irrigation scheduling. Each participant left with a float ready to install and was provided with a contact person for follow-up instruction regarding installation.

In 2005, demonstrations of sanding pruning sequence combinations were established at four bog sites, additional sites will be established in the spring of 2006. At each site, project scientists gathered information regarding canopy density, productivity, and crop quality.

Collaborators: