Irrigation, Tile Drainage and Frost Protection 2012

Transcription

1 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst Cranberry Station Extension meetings Cranberry Station Outreach and Public Service Activities Irrigation, Tile Drainage and Frost Protection 2012 Peter Jerenyama Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Horticulture Commons Recommended Citation Jerenyama, Peter, "Irrigation, Tile Drainage and Frost Protection 2012" (2012). Cranberry Station Extension meetings Retrieved from This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Cranberry Station Outreach and Public Service Activities at Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cranberry Station Extension meetings by an authorized administrator of Amherst. For more information, please contact

2 Irrigation, Tile Drainage & Frost Protection Peter Jeranyama, Jesica Morgan Faith Ndlovu, Alex Ward, Bongani Jeranyama and Miles Hegedus

3 Cranberry Physiology Lab

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5 Too wet Adequate range

6 Bog water retension Zone of saturation Gravimetric water Volumetric water content (m 3 m-3) y = x x x x R² = Tension (kpa) Field Capacity

7 Irrigation Summary 1. When using Volumetric Moisture Content (VMC), field capacity is between 5 & 15% 2. Field capacity using tensiometer is between 4-5 kpa [1 PSI = 7 kpa] 3. Water saturation between 35 and 40% VWC or 0 kpa

8 Tile Spacing, feet Tile Drainage Study, 2010 # of vegeta2ve uprights 7 2 # of upright with 1 berry 7 2 # of uprights 1 berry Contrasts 15 vs. 20 NS ** * * 15 vs.25 * ** NS NS 20 vs. 25 NS NS NS NS Yield (BBL)

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10 Drainage Summary feet spacing is associated with a low upright density 2. Optimum fructose content is between 20 and 30 feet spacing 3. Optimum fruit yield obtained at either 20 or 30 feet spacing 4. No advantage in reducing tile drainage spacing from 30 feet.

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13 Approaches Conventional (start may or may not be automated) - Running irrigation system throughout the night starts at onset of critical temperature stops when bog temperature rises slightly above tolerance threshold

14 Automated Intermittent It starts automatically, based on temperature Pumps then cycle on and off as temperature fluctuates

15 Objectives To determine the effectiveness of (i) automated intermittent (AI) sprinkling, (ii) Conventional* (CONV), and (iii) late water spring floods(lw) in reducing cranberry spring bud damage. *start is manual OR automated

16 Materials and Method About 500 cranberry buds were collected from each cultivar under AI, COV & LW Buds were dissected under a microscope and assessed for damage

17 Materials and Method flowering and fruiting were also measured throughout the season

18 Cultivar Damage by Method at 1 st Frost Event ) Frost Bud Damage (%) AI CONV LW AI CONV LW AI CONV LW Early Black Howes Stevens

19 Cultivar Damage by Method at 2 nd Frost Event ) Frost Bud Damage (%) AI CONV LW AI CONV LW AI CONV LW Early Black Howes Stevens

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21 Fruiting under AI frui2ng vegeta2ve CrimQueen DeMoran Eblack Howes Mqueen Stevens

22 Fruiting under CONV frui2ng vegeta2ve Eblack Howes Stevens

23 Summary 1. Cultivars were sensitive to frost protection methods especially Stevens. 2. Stevens suffered up to 22% damage under AI & no damage under CONV. 3. Early Black suffered 12% damage under LW. 4. Three in every ten uprights had bloom across cultivar, Stevens AI had the least. 5. Under AI, Stevens & Crimson Queen had fruit on two of every five uprights. 6. Results are from a mild frost season.