Disease Management

Cranberries are grown on approximately 14,000 acres in Massachusetts and are an important horticultural commodity in the Southeastern region of the state. In addition, more than 60,000 acres of open space are associated with cranberry operations. This open space provides habitat to many plant and animal species as well as providing an aesthetic value. Open space associated with cranberry farms serves to protect and recharge watersheds. Cranberry farming also contributes to the economy and quality of life in Southeastern Massachusetts

Preventing and Responding to a Fuel or Oil Spill

The best way to reduce the possibility of a fuel or oil spill is to take preventative steps to minimize the chance that a spill will occur. Preventative steps include: (1) use of food grade oil; (2) proper storage and handling of fuel and oils and; (3) regular maintenance and inspection of equipment. In spite of taking these steps to minimize spills, accidents do occur. Even though most spills tend to happen during harvest, you should be prepared to handle a fuel or oil spill at any time during the year. Should an accidental spill occur, be prepared to respond quickly. Clean-up preparedness requires: (1) prior training in clean-up procedures; (2) immediate availability of clean-up (spill kit) materials and; (3) prompt notification to the handler. Following the recommended practices will insure food safety and reduced environmental risk. Despite the fact that the FDA tolerance, the legal allowable amount of food grade lubricant residue that can occur on cranberries, is 10 ppm, the goal of every grower should be to deliver fruit with no food-grade oil residue. Remember that there is no tolerance for non-food grade oil or fuel on cranberries

Weed Management

In order to select the best management practices for weed management, it is important to understand how weeds grow, how they affect cranberry yields, how weeds are affected by environmental factors, and how the various herbicides work. Often, using several strategies in an integrated program may produce better weed management than any single control measure alone

Nutrient Management

Nutrient elements are required by cranberry plants for the production of vegetation (new leaves and stems), roots, and fruit (crop). Cranberry plants get these nutrients from the soil, from water, or from fertilizers added to the bog. While cranberries require the same nutrients as other plants, they are unique in that the amounts required are much smaller than for most crop plants. The reason for this is that cranberries have adapted through evolution for growth on acid, sandy soils. These soils have little nutrient content, and the plants in the family Ericaceae such as cranberries and blueberries that evolved on them have correspondingly low nutrient needs. Further, cranberries are perennial plants with the capacity to store and reuse nutrients in old leaves, wood, and roots. A unique and important feature of cranberries is that they maintain their leaves over the winter. These leaves also serve as a nutrient source when the plants resume growth in the spring. Commercially, cranberries are grown in either organic soils modified by surface application of sand, or in mineral soils. The rooting zone typically contains about 95% sand. Average organic matter in the surface horizon of Massachusetts cranberry soils is less than 3.5% and silt and clay make up less than 3% of the soil. Therefore, cranberry soil has low cation exchange capacity - little ability to hold positively charged nutrients such as ammonium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. However, downward leaching of nutrients is minimized by the layered structure of cranberry bog soil. Layers of sand are added to the bogs every 2-5 years leading to alternating sandy and organic layers. The organic layers are comprised of decaying roots and leaves. Nutrient leaching is also minimized in peat based soils by the high organic matter content of the subsoil. Why cranberries need fertilizer: Each season nutrients are removed from the bog during harvest and detrashing (removal of fallen leaves from the bog floor). When the fruit is harvested, the elements removed in the largest quantities are nitrogen, potassium, and calcium, at \u3e20 lb/A (nitrogen) or \u3e15 lb/A (potassium and calcium) in an average (150 bbl/A) crop. The amount of nutrient removal increases with increasing crop load and is less when crops are small. It is to compensate for nutrient removal that cranberry growers add fertilizer to their bogs. Most fertilizer added to producing cranberry bogs contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K fertilizer). Phosphorus is included in the mixture to maintain nutrient balance and because much of the phosphorus in cranberry bog soil is not available to the plants at crucial growth stages. Fertilizer is applied to cranberry bogs using ground rigs (spreaders and seeders), helicopters (aerial application), and the sprinkler system (fertigation)

Insect Management

Minimizing damage to the plants and crop by insect pests is one of the most important challenges in cranberry production. Failure to manage pest insects properly can result in severe crop loss, vine damage, or in extreme cases, the death of large areas of the bog. The most effective insect management strategy is an integrated approach using scouting techniques to monitor insect populations. Cultural, biological, or chemical control measures are applied only when the pest pressure (insect population) reaches an action threshold. The action or economic threshold is the ‘break even’ point where damage by a certain pest population begins to exceed the cost of the control measure (usually a biological or chemical pesticide application). The threshold number varies depending on the potential of a given insect species to cause economic damage

Site evaluation, design, operation, and installation of home sewage systems in Iowa

The demand for on-site waste treatment systems for dwellings not served by sewer systems continues to grow in Iowa. On-site systems, when properly designed and maintained, provide a viable means of treating septic tank effluent. A research project was initiated at Iowa State University to provide information for solving problems associated with design, location, and maintenance of on-site systems in Iowa. This publication is designed to report the results of the interdisciplinary research and provide information for sanitarians, extension personnel, and contractors on waste treatment systems.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/specialreports/1083/thumbnail.jp

Evaluating Short-Term Patient Outcomes after HIV Care Interventions in a Low Resource Setting: Preparing for an HIV Vaccine Trial Site in Bamako, Mali

Poster Presentation From AIDS Vaccine 2012 Boston, MA, USA. 9-12 September 201

Neighbor to Neighbor Relations

U. S. Census data indicate that people are leaving the urban population centers for suburban and rural areas. People may move to rural areas with an expectation that their new home will be located in a quiet, peaceful, rustic, and isolated setting. The consequence of this population migration is that more and more people, with little or no understanding of cranberry production, are moving into homes in close proximity to cranberry bogs. Late evening or early morning bog inspections and frost protecting, as well as helicopter activity, can be quite disconcerting to your neighbors. The management practices outlined below can be helpful for developing and maintaining congenial neighbor-to-neighbor relations