Insects are a major problem in cranberry production – they are estimated to reduce yield by 1-2% and without spraying, cranberry false blossom, a phytoplasma vectored by blunt-nosed leafhopper, would eliminate commercial cranberry production completely. Spraying chemical pesticides is the most common practice to combat pathogens and herbivorous insects, but beneficial insects, such as honeybees, important pollinators of cranberry, and natural enemies, such as predators and parasitoids, could be affected as well. Therefore, at the P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension, we study the defensive mechanisms that cranberry plants themselves use against insect feeding. The research project of Dr. Elvira de Lange, a postdoc at the P.E. Marucci Center, focuses on four of the most problematic insects on cranberry in New Jersey: Sparganothis fruitworm, spotted fireworm, gypsy moth and the above-mentioned blunt-nosed leafhopper.

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The American Cranberry Growers Association 2015 Summer Field Day will be held on Thursday August 20, 2015 at the P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension, Chatsworth, NJ

AGENDA

CRANBERRY BOGS
8:30–8:45 Opening Remarks
Shawn Cutts, President, American Cranberry Growers Association

8:45-9:05 Virus Observations in the Field-Symptoms and Detection (Bog 8)
James Polashock, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS

9:05–10:25 Update on Disease Management (Bog 10)
Peter Oudemans, Department of Plant Biology and Pathology, Rutgers University

9:25–9:45 Next Generation Cranberry Hybrids: the 3rd Breeding and Selection Cycle (Bog 10)
Nicholi Vorsa, P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension, Rutgers University, Chatsworth, NJ

9:45-10:05 Evaluation of Our “Top Ten” Fruit Rot Resistant Selections (Bog 11)
Jennifer Johnson-Cicalese, P.E. Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension, Rutgers University, Chatsworth, NJ

10:05–10:25 Update on Insect Management (Bog 19)
Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University; Vera Kyryczenko-Roth, P.E. Marucci Center; and Robert Holdcraft, P.E. Marucci Center

10:25-10:45 Assessing Insect Resistance in Cranberries (Bog 20)
Elvira de Lange, Department of Entomology, Rutgers University

CONFERENCE ROOM
11:00–11:15 Cranberry Statistics
Bruce A Eklund, State Statistician, U.S. Department of Agriculture | National Agricultural Statistics Service

11:15–11:30 Cranberry Museum
Ted Gordon, Pine Barrens Botanist, Historian

11:30–12:00 Show and Tell
Cranberry growers

12:00–1:00 LUNCH (Pole Barn)

1:00–1:30 Farm Safety
Ray Samulis, Cooperative Extension Agent, Burlington County Extension, Rutgers University