(114) Performance of Cranberry Varieties on an Upland Site in Michigan
in HortScienceTwenty cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) genotypes were evaluated for five seasons in an experimental upland planting in southwest Michigan. Beds were constructed on a silty clay loam soil by excavating to grade, and filled with 30 to 45 cm of sand. Four 2 × 2-m plots of each genotype were planted in 1996. Fruit were harvested with hand scoops from 2000 to 2005. Yield per plot, average berry weight, and percent berries exhibiting decay were determined. Sound fruit were also stored at 2 °C for 4 to 8 weeks and sorted to determine the percentage of fruit developing decay in storage. Fungi were isolated and identified by morphological characteristics. Genotypes producing the highest average yields were `Stevens', `Ben Lear', #35, `LeMunyon', and `Franklin'. Varieties with the highest average berry weight were `Pilgrim', `Stevens', `Baines', `Beckwith', `Searles', and #35. Genotypes with lower rot incidence at harvest were #35, `Early Black', and `Foxboro Howes', whereas `Howes' and #35 developed the least rot during storage. Fungi commonly isolated from decaying fruit were Colletotrichum sp., Coleophoma empetri, Phomopsis vaccinii, Phyllosticta vaccinii, Fusicoccum putrefaciens, Botrytis cinerea, Pestalotia sp., and Allantophomopsis sp. Prevalence of specific fungi differed among cranberry genotypes.
