Allison Jonjak, outreach cranberry specialist with the Division of Extension, says growers have had to stay on top of nutrient application and water levels in their marshes with all the rain we’ve been getting. Luckily, she has a favorable outlook on this year’s crop.
“I have seen good crop potential out the last couple of days,” she says. “I do think that it is a really good test year to see how resilient our growers can be to surprise weather events.”
She says the wet conditions have kept farmers on their toes. Cranberries rely on pollinators, such as bees. But those bees need dry days to do their pollination work. The rain made for sluggish pollinator activity in the marshes. Jonjak says the silver lining was the cooler temperatures. These extended the time that the blossoms were open for the bees to work.
“I think that the coolness really did save our necks and give those bees enough working days,” she says. “What I have seen in most marshes that I’ve been out on this week, I did see fairly good fruit set.”
Careful water management has allowed cranberry growers to keep the crop healthy.
It’s a common myth that cranberries grow in water. Flooding cranberry marshes with water is used during the harvest, for frost protection, and insect management for short periods of time. Standing water is not good for the crop.
Jonjak says that if cranberries were to sit in water, it would hurt the yield for the following year. Today’s water management technology in the cranberry marshes allows farmers to control how much moisture the fruit gets no matter the rainfall amounts.
