In fact, controlling how much water is in these bogs is an important part of a successful cranberry harvest, and it keeps cranberry farmers busy year round.

do cranberries grow underwater? Due to popular commercials about cranberry harvesting, many people think that cranberries grow underwater. This isn't the case. Cranberries need water to survive, like all plants, but they won't actively grow while submerged or in standing water.

What does make the cranberry plant special is the fact that it can survive underwater for months during the winter. After the harvest and just before winter temperatures become dangerous to the cranberry vines, the cranberry bogs are flooded to protect the the plants from sub-zero temperatures and frigid winter winds.

The bog is drained in the spring so the plants can flower and produce fruit. It isn't filled with water again until harvest. how are cranberries harvested? There are two possible methods of harvesting cranberries: dry harvesting and wet harvesting.

Wet harvesting is how most cranberries are gathered. Those berries are destined to become juices, jellies, and dried fruit. Because cranberries contain pockets of air, they readily float to the surface, which makes harvesting a simple process. See the Flood Management BMP for further information.

Dry harvest equipment should be cleaned of debris that might contain weed seeds prior to moving to the next bed.

If a harvested bed is known to have Phytophthora infestation, sterilize equipment prior to harvesting any uninfested beds. Dry harvest techniques are stressful to the cranberry plants.

A post harvest flood can minimize this stress and remove leaf trash at the same time see below. After detrashing, allow the flood to settle and release gradually over the top flume board to minimize discharge of sediments. Fruit with good quality and high color anthocyanin content may command a premium price.

While it is easier to water harvest fruit from overgrown beds compared to dry harvest , overgrowth is often associated with poor color. Fertility, sanding, and pruning should be managed to promote adequate growth while allowing good light penetration into the canopy.

This will promote yield and color. In order to conserve water, harvest should be managed so that water is re-used to harvest as many sections of bog as possible before the water is released from the system. Plan harvest water flow from bog to bog so that, whenever possible, water is not moved from disease or weed infested bogs into clean bogs.

This is particularly important in controlling the spread of Phytophthora and dodder. During harvest, sediments are suspended into the flood water. Discharge of sediment into wetlands and waterways is not permitted. Sediments should be allowed to settle for several days and flood water should be discharged over the top flume boards gradually to avoid sediment discharge to surface water.

A novel practice of holding the harvest flood for up to 4 weeks is under investigation by scientists at the Cranberry Station and a team of growers. This practice may have additional benefits in pest and weed control. See post-harvest section below.

Fall flooding in late September is a recommended option for the control of cranberry girdler. Cranberry girdler can be controlled with a fall flood beginning between September 25 and October 1 and lasting one week. Ongoing research suggested by grower practices has shown that holding the harvest flood for up to 4 weeks post-harvest suppresses dewberry populations.

Emergence of cranberry fruitworm the following spring was also suppressed. No reduction of crop has been reported after several years of experimentation with post-harvest floods. This is particularly important if the bed was dry harvested.

Although trash is removed during the water harvest, an additional trash flood may be beneficial if the bog has not been recently sanded. The leaf litter that builds up on the floor of the bed is a source of disease inoculum and a habitat for insect pests and is best removed from the bog.

If fall fertilizer post-harvest is to be used, apply after the plants have achieved dormant color but as far ahead of the winter flood as possible. Do not use fall fertilizer if holding a post-harvest flood fall flood or on mineral soil beds.

In bogs that have adequate soil drainage, some actively growing aquatic vegetation should have been left in the ditches during the growing season to provide filtration in removing nutrients and residues from the water.

Ditches should be cleaned post-harvest to facilitate moving water during the winter and to promote drainage in the spring. See the Erosion and Sediment Control BMP for further information.

Post-harvest use of casoron is not recommended. Due to the high rates needed for efficacy of fall applications, post-harvest use of evital should be limited to the spot treatment of well-mapped areas of existing sensitive weeds such as nutsedge.

Glyphosate products may be used post-harvest and are effective if the target weed is still actively metabolizing not yet dormant. Refer to the Cranberry Chart Book for current herbicide rates and recommendations.

DeMoranville, C. in Sandler, H. Cranberry Production: A Guide for Massachusetts. UMass Extension Publication SP December Second printing February Water Resource Protection and Enhancement and Flood Management BMPs in this series. Prepared by Carolyn DeMoranville Project Leader and Hilary Sandler.

Production of this Management Guide was supported by Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture as part of the Agro-Environmental Technology Grants Program.

Matching funds were provided by University of Massachusetts Extension USDA Cooperating and Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association.

Approximately 90 percent of the crop is harvested this way. Flood harvesting occurs after the berries are well colored and the flood waters have lost their summer heat. The bogs are flooded with up to one foot of water.

In order to conserve water, harvest is managed so water is reused to harvest as many sections of bog as possible before the water is released from the system. Flood water is recycled in the cranberry bog system, passed from bog to bog through canals and flume holding ponds and reused, often shared by several growers.

For a summary of water use in cranberries, view our Water Use Fact Sheet. How Cranberries Grow: Water Use. Sprinkler Systems Sprinkler irrigation supplements soil moisture, protects the buds from spring frosts and the berries from fall frosts and cools the plants during intense summer heat.

Irrigation Cranberries can require 0. Frost Protection Frost protection applies water to prevent damage to buds and berries when they are sensitive to temperatures below freezing.

Flooding The other practice when cranberry growers use water on the bog is flooding. Winter Flood Cranberry vines may be injured or killed by severe winter weather.

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A confirmation email has been sent to the email address you used to register your account. To set your password, please visit this link. After the harvest and just before winter temperatures become dangerous to the cranberry vines, the cranberry bogs are flooded to protect the the plants from sub-zero temperatures and frigid winter winds.

The bog is drained in the spring so the plants can flower and produce fruit. It isn't filled with water again until harvest. how are cranberries harvested? There are two possible methods of harvesting cranberries: dry harvesting and wet harvesting.

Wet harvesting is how most cranberries are gathered. Those berries are destined to become juices, jellies, and dried fruit. Because cranberries contain pockets of air, they readily float to the surface, which makes harvesting a simple process.

The other method, dry harvesting, involves collecting the cranberries before flooding the bog.

Explore our different products to savour our cranberry harvest! And stay tuned! Late September to December is the season for fresh cranberries. This is the time to stock up on fresh berries for your favourite preparations! For more inspiration, take a look at our recipes.

Are you looking for healthy homemade snack ideas to start back to school and back to the office on the…. Are you a fan of the delicious ruby-red berries from Quebec? Tasty in all kinds of sauces, these berries are…. Back Patience. Our Newsletter Recipes, Tips, and More!

Share Print. Ideally, the fruit are harvested at full maturity with good color anthocyanin content but prior to the fruit becoming over-ripe. Timing of harvest is important for fresh-market fruit so that the berries are sufficiently red but retain good storage quality, while fruit for the process market ideally has maximum color.

Following the harvest, management practices focus on minimizing harvest stress and preparing the bogs for the dormant season. To minimize disease and weed infestations, leaf litter and fallen fruit are removed from the bogs.

Ben Lears and Early Blacks generally ripen before Stevens and Howes. It is important to remember that the earliest ripening cultivars are subject to physiological breakdown sterile rot by the end of the harvest season. Factors that may slow color development are warm temperatures, particularly at night, and low exposure to sunlight thick canopy.

Pre-Harvest Interval is defined as the number of days which must pass between the application of a pesticide and harvest.

The interval varies for each pesticide and formulation and is designed to allow enough time to pass for the pesticide to breakdown so that consumer exposure is minimized. Always observe proper Pre-Harvest Intervals PHIs for any pesticides that have been applied during the season.

These intervals are listed on the pesticide labels. Prior to and post-harvest, do not neglect the water requirements of the plants. Continue to monitor soil moisture and irrigate as needed.

See the Irrigation BMP for further information. Dry harvested beds should be managed so that runner production and rank upright growth is minimized. Fertilizer rates should be low to moderate. Pruning may be required periodically. This can be accomplished in the early spring or during harvest Furford or Western pickers or post-harvest.

Dry harvest fruit is generally sold in the fresh market, therefore, keeping quality is important. Often dry harvest beds are treated with additional fungicide applications to insure post-harvest quality.

However, additional applications may not be required if the Keeping Quality Forecast is good to excellent.

Late water is an excellent tool for promoting good keeping quality and limiting fungicide requirements if the Preliminary Keeping Quality Forecast is poor.

See the Flood Management BMP for further information. Dry harvest equipment should be cleaned of debris that might contain weed seeds prior to moving to the next bed.

If a harvested bed is known to have Phytophthora infestation, sterilize equipment prior to harvesting any uninfested beds. Dry harvest techniques are stressful to the cranberry plants. A post harvest flood can minimize this stress and remove leaf trash at the same time see below.

After detrashing, allow the flood to settle and release gradually over the top flume board to minimize discharge of sediments. Fruit with good quality and high color anthocyanin content may command a premium price. While it is easier to water harvest fruit from overgrown beds compared to dry harvest , overgrowth is often associated with poor color.

Fertility, sanding, and pruning should be managed to promote adequate growth while allowing good light penetration into the canopy. It has metal teeth that comb the berries off the vine and deposit them in a burlap sack at the back of the machine.

Helicopters are sometimes used to transport the sacks to protect the vines from the traffic of heavy trucks. Find a store. This is not a valid ZIP code Enter Zipcode Store Locator. Choose your Country or Region. Virgin Islands English.

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The berries are then corralled and transferred to a truck for transport. Dry Harvest While only a small percentage of cranberries are dry harvested, the process can be done by hand or using mechanical pickers resembling lawn mowers with comb-like conveyor belts that carry the berries to attached burlap bags.

Cranberries are grown throughout the northern part of the United States — Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey and Washington primarily. These areas offer the special conditions that cranberries require including sandy soil, abundant fresh water and a growing season from May to October.

Vaccinium Macrocarpon. The American cranberry, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Ait. The European species, Vaccinium Oxycoccus L. Because V. oxycoccus is a tetraploid species the plant has twice as many chromosome sets as normal often resulting in large plants and flowers , it will not hybridize with the diploid, V.

Research on cranberries has primarily been conducted using the V. macrocarpon variety. Popular Cranberry Varieties. Ben Lear Discovered by D. Howes Discovered by E. Searles Discovered by A. Early Blacks Discovered by N. McFarlin Discovered by T. Stevens Discovered by H. Because of this, cranberries float in water, and thus, the bogs can be flooded to aid in removal of fruit from the vines.

By this action, cranberries are dislodged from the vines and float to the surface of the water. Wet harvested cranberries are used for juices, sauces, sweetened dried cranberries, ingredients in other processed foods or in nutraceutical products.

Water is applied through the sprinkler system to protect the ripening cranberries from freezing. This can occur anytime the temperature drops below damaging levels, usually between late evening and early morning hours.

See the Fall Frost page for more photos of frost protection. Ditches are necessary for the flooding and drainage of a bog. The network of ditches must be kept free flowing. A confirmation email has been sent to the email address you used to register your account. To set your password, please visit this link.

Every autumn usually from mid-September until around mid-November in North America and March through May in Chile , cranberries reach their peak of color and flavor and are ready for harvesting. That's when our growers harvest millions of pounds of cranberries. If you ask us, it's really quite beautiful.

You can find them all over North and South America, from Massachusetts to New Jersey, Oregon to Washington, Wisconsin, parts of British Columbia and Quebec, and Chile. A lot of people think that cranberries grow under water.

Makes sense, since we usually see the berries floating on top of the water. The bog is flooded with up to 18 inches of water the night before the berries are to be harvested. Each berry has tiny pockets of air that allow it to float to the surface of the water.

Fresh cranberries, the ones you buy in the produce aisle every fall, are harvested using the dry method. It's the best way to get the absolute freshest of berries. For this, cranberry growers use a mechanical picker that looks like a large lawnmower.

It has metal teeth that comb the berries off the vine and deposit them in a burlap sack at the back of the machine. Helicopters are sometimes used to transport the sacks to protect the vines from the traffic of heavy trucks.

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