Articles
Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) responses to in-field warming
Article number
1440_35
Pages
249 – 256
Language
English
Abstract
British Columbia (B.C.) is a major cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) producing region in Canada with a farm gate value of $ 184 M in 2022; with Canada being second only to the United States for worldwide cranberry supply.
Our recent work shows that cranberry growing regions will be differentially impacted under future climate scenarios with both temperature and precipitation leading to potential challenges for producers.
Producers in B.C. already use unique and adapted mechanisms for cranberry production as approaches such as flooding, freezing, and sanding fields are not viable in the existing climate.
Building on ongoing varietal evaluation studies at the British Columbia Cranberry Research Farm in Delta, B.C., Canada, our objective was to examine the impacts of future climate scenarios on cranberry growth and productivity through the application of passive in-field warming experiments.
We constructed passive warming chambers for three cultivars of cranberries: ‘Haines’, ‘Mullica Queen’, and ‘NJS98-11’ in April 2022. These represent an established cultivar (‘Mullica Queen’), a newer cultivar with delayed phenological development (‘Haines’), and an unreleased cultivar with delayed coloring (‘NJS98-11’). Warming increased temperatures by 3-5°C, representative of future climate scenarios.
Cranberries in warmed and control plots were monitored throughout the year and data including phenology, growth patterns, bud set, fruit characteristics, quality, and yield were recorded.
After only one growing season of warming phenological development was advanced, and a shift toward runner development and away from fruiting uprights was observed associated with reductions of up to 80% in yield in ‘NJS98-11’. Overall ‘Mullica Queen’ was found to be the least responsive and ‘NJS98-11’ the most responsive to warming.
Experiments are ongoing through the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons with untargeted metabolomics studies to better understand the biological basis of differential varietal responses.
Our recent work shows that cranberry growing regions will be differentially impacted under future climate scenarios with both temperature and precipitation leading to potential challenges for producers.
Producers in B.C. already use unique and adapted mechanisms for cranberry production as approaches such as flooding, freezing, and sanding fields are not viable in the existing climate.
Building on ongoing varietal evaluation studies at the British Columbia Cranberry Research Farm in Delta, B.C., Canada, our objective was to examine the impacts of future climate scenarios on cranberry growth and productivity through the application of passive in-field warming experiments.
We constructed passive warming chambers for three cultivars of cranberries: ‘Haines’, ‘Mullica Queen’, and ‘NJS98-11’ in April 2022. These represent an established cultivar (‘Mullica Queen’), a newer cultivar with delayed phenological development (‘Haines’), and an unreleased cultivar with delayed coloring (‘NJS98-11’). Warming increased temperatures by 3-5°C, representative of future climate scenarios.
Cranberries in warmed and control plots were monitored throughout the year and data including phenology, growth patterns, bud set, fruit characteristics, quality, and yield were recorded.
After only one growing season of warming phenological development was advanced, and a shift toward runner development and away from fruiting uprights was observed associated with reductions of up to 80% in yield in ‘NJS98-11’. Overall ‘Mullica Queen’ was found to be the least responsive and ‘NJS98-11’ the most responsive to warming.
Experiments are ongoing through the 2024 and 2025 growing seasons with untargeted metabolomics studies to better understand the biological basis of differential varietal responses.
Publication
Authors
S.L. Lane, S.L. Laframboise, L.A.E. Erland
Keywords
warming, climate change, varietal response, yield, field trial, British Columbia
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