Cranberries Looking Good For 2015

Cranberries Looking Good For 2015

Cranberries Looking Good For 2015. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report.

It's been a strange year so far for most ag crops in the state and that's holding true for cranberries on the West side of the state. Kim Patten with WSU-Long Beach says like everywhere, it's been dry.

PATTEN: It's probably one of the warmer years we've had in - certainly in recent history and certainly even longer than that. So we had an excellent spring and an excellent pollination window in June so we were expecting a above average, if not well above average crop.

Of course as Patten says they won't really know until the berries has been harvested.

PATTEN: Everyone is optimistic, however...however...we've had some hot days and extended periods of hot days so that we're showing some heat stress on a lot of beds. So areas that are not necessarily getting enough water basically tend to brown out and it's pretty consistent. I think almost every grower has some problems.

The last few years have been ones for the record books but only because they were so bad.

PATTEN: Four of the last five are the lowest in the last 60 years.

But as they get closer to harvest time there will be a lot of eyes on the skies in hopes of additional moisture to assist with the wet harvesting of the cranberries.

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.

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