OBSERVATIONS ON FLOODING WATERS 



USED IN CRANBERRY CULTURE 



By Neil E. Stevens^ 



The importance of flooding water in cranberry culture has long been recog- 

 nized. Within the last five years several papers have appeared presenting evi- 

 dence that in Wisconsin the composition of the water used in flooding, particu- 

 larly its alkalinity, is of great importance. That cranberries are grown in Wis- 

 consin under a much wider variety of conditions than in the eastern states is 

 well known. In no way is this more strikingly shown than in the range of acidity 

 of the water used in flooding. This contrast is clearly shown in Table 1 based 

 on analyses of practically all the reservoir waters in Wisconsin (about 100) and 

 the first 100 water supplies tested in Plymouth and Barnstable counties, Massa- 

 chusetts, during the summer of 1945. Obviously only a very few of these Cape 

 Cod water supplies are even a little above pH 7, and all have very low alkalini- 

 ties. It should thus be clear at the outset that the conditions observed to be 

 harmful in Wisconsin have not been found to exist on any Massachusetts bog 

 now in cultivation. 



On the other hand, in the opinion of Dr. Franklin, the facts discovered in 

 Wisconsin would be of interest in Massachusetts and might well become of 

 vital importance in case of wide geographical expansion of the industry in New 

 England. Massachusetts cranberry growers will not be surprised to learn that 

 Lawrence M. Rogers was the first to call public attention to the apparent rela- 

 tion between alkaline flooding water and certain cranberry problems. During 

 the years he worked in Wisconsin he became convinced of its importance. In 

 1936 he turned over to me the evidence he had accumulated and we discussed 

 the problem at length. The first paper^ relating to this matter was revised by 

 him after his retirement. In this paper the conditions observed on the three or 

 four cranberry marshes having water with pH 8.4 or 8.6, which were still in 

 cultivation in 1930 to 1940, are described as follows: 



These marshes have been observed closely over a period of ten or twelve 

 years and have never during this time produced a really satisfactory crop 

 of fruit, even though they have had adequate frost protection and no 

 unusual losses from insects and disease. As already stated, we have no 

 proof that this condition is due to the alkalinity of the flooding water, 

 but there are certain pathological conditions which are observed on these 

 marshes, not often found on those with acid water. 



In general, the eff'ect one gets from observing such a marsh is that the 

 vines are constantly over-fertilized and over-stimulated. Vegetative 

 growth is much too abundant and many of the berries actually produced 

 are abnormally large. Growth in the spring is unusually vigorous and 

 rapid and is frequently associated with a condition that we have come to 

 call "flower bud absorption." This is a condition in which uprights 

 develop from fruit buds on which the blossom buds have aborted and 

 fail to grow away from enclosing bud scales, although growth of the up- 

 right proceeds normally in other respects. The general appearance sug- 

 gests frost injury, but repeated observations have convinced us it is not 

 due to frost in these cases and may be associated with water. At any rate, 

 this condition is much more common on marshes with alkaline water. 



On such marshes in the fall fruit buds tend to^overgrow, that is develop 

 beyond the point normal for the resting period, and are thus more subject 

 to injury, frequentlj' to complete killing, during the winter submergence. 



^Professor of Botany, University of Illinois; Cranberry Specialist in the Wisconsin Department 

 of Agriculture summers. 



^Stevens, N. E., Rogers, L. M., and Bain, H. F. Alkaline flooding water in cranberry growing. 

 Trans. Wis. Acad. Sci. 32:351-360. 1940. 



