Tag Archives: irrigation

Boricua renovation

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Pine Island’s bog renovation team is moving steadily forward on the next stage of our Oswego project at the Boricua bogs, which we will be planting with Crimson Queen this fall. Like the rest of the bogs at the Oswego renovation, they had previously been planted with Early Blacks and had been productive bogs, but “…they were starting to become what we colloquially call ‘mutts’, which means they weren’t true Early Blacks anymore,” Bill says. “Production started to drop off. They were adequate and not necessarily terrible, but definitely no longer up to our standards.”

As we mentioned in January, part of the renovation includes new pump houses. We’ll be installing the larger size double-wall fuel tanks, which have the benefit of better environmental protection (always a concern with water management) and having to be fueled less often, which is more efficient. But first, the bog renovation team had to work closely with the facilities team to get the dog leg and suction line installed.

The installation is fairly straightforward: the team (Facilities supervisor Mike Guest, foreman Wilfredo Pagan, and team member Emmanuel Colon) places an eighteen-inch stone bed at the bottom of the canal. They place the screen (a PVC pipe with slots cut into it) on the stone bed, then add another foot of stones on top. “It’s so much more efficient this way,” says Wilfredo. “We end up using less water with this design, because we don’t need to raise the water as high. And it’s fun to watch!”

While the installation itself is straightforward, it does take some time to make sure it’s done right. The team works with the long arm excavator and a laser level to ensure that the stone bed is properly set, as well as getting into the bed and checking by hand.

Once it’s installed, the stone bed will act to filter out any natural debris that’s in the water, such as leaves, sticks, twigs, and dirt. The stone will stop any debris from entering the system and plugging the sprinklers.

While one team is working on the suction line, another team is installing the main irrigation line as well as laying out a plumb line at Boricua #1 and #2. Plumb line is installed to make sure the layout of the irrigation system is a true grid. Once that’s installed, the team will be able to put in sprinklers.

Bog Renovations manager Joe Colon says all that remains after this is land leveling so that the team can start mapping for the sprinklers and underdrain. “It’s a lot of acreage,” he says. “But we did a lot last time. We can definitely do this.” Wilfredo agrees: “We’re getting better at this all the time.”

Bog renovation

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While the 2012 spring planting was being completed, we had already turned our attention to our latest project: renovating our Oswego bogs. Bog renovation is a time-consuming and capital-intensive but necessary project that will increase both yield and quality by improving bog and irrigation design.

Earlier this year, our team first redesigned the layout, deciding how to best work with the surrounding water resources for maximum land use efficiency. They reshaped some beds, removed the old vines, and did the initial leveling to prep the soil.

We’ve previously stated that the three things most important to growing cranberries are water, water, and more water. Currently, the team is hard at work on the irrigation improvements. They’ve begun ditching, which, as we spoke about last month, ensures adequate water flow for both flooding and drainage. Effective bed drainage is critical, especially in New Jersey, where the humid climate can provide a favorable environment for Phytophthora cinnamomi, a known cause of root rot.

According to Joe Colon, Pine Island’s bog renovations manager, we have replaced over twenty of our wooden floodgates with a newer PVC design. While some of our wooden gates have been in use for almost seventy years, the new design will have even greater longevity. They are also easier to install and repair, which will in turn be easier for team members to make the most efficient use of their time.

Other improvements to the water system besides new gates and rebuilt ditches include the relocation of the pumps. As part of our irrigation redesign, and with the redesign of some of the beds, it was necessary to make some changes in order to maximize water flow to the pump. Relocation of the pump houses is also helpful for improved access, both for refueling and repairs.

Even though planting is not scheduled until November, weed control has already become necessary. There are already briars appearing in some of the beds scheduled for planting in 2012-2013 even after rotovation (mechanical tilling of the soil). The current plan is to rotovate again, and then flood in order to keep them from taking root.

Bog renovation is a key component to maintaining Pine Island’s core values of continuous improvement, continuous growth, and protecting the environment. Increasing production over time through bog renovation and decreasing the time to achieve full production is essential to accomplish our growth objectives.

New planting: updates

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One of our April blog entries was on planting bogs at Sim Place. Planting was completed in May, but continuing care for the young bogs is under the supervision of Tug Haines, the fifth generation of the Haines family working at Pine Island and currently serving as a foreman in our PIICM program.


Once the plants are in, it is important to monitor the young bogs frequently to ensure that they are rooting well and remain healthy. Last week, Tug met with Bill, PIICM manager Cristina Tassone, and Dan Schiffhauer of Ocean Spray to check the bogs and discuss their nutritional needs.

The consensus was “so far, so good”; we’re not getting much leaf drop and the plants seem to be thriving. We’re not seeing many runners yet, but according to Schiffhauer, that’s just fine. “You don’t want kudzu,” he says. “The important thing the first year is for the roots to establish before they start running, and that’s what we’re seeing.” The PIICM team will continue to watch color and leaf size on the new growth in order to determine fertilizer needs and then modifying the plan if necessary. As soil and nutrition consultant Dr. Joan Davenport always reminds us: “It is ineffective to put fertilizer onto the beds until the root mass around the [new plants] is at least the diameter of a standard #2 pencil.”

As with the established bogs, heat is also a consideration. A ride with Tug overseeing the young bogs is very much like a night monitoring for frost; we check for the bog temperature (the thermometer is protected by a shade canopy for more accurate readings) and soil moisture before deciding if running the water is necessary.

You cannot always rely on tensiometer readings, however; you also need to get out in the bog and check for yourself. On her last visit, Joan also noted that “when leaves are young and tender, relying strictly on the tensiometers could result in a false sense of security about what the plant water demand is.” Yesterday the soil seemed particularly hardened and dry, so Tug decided to run the water for a couple of hours. Again, as with frost, it’s not just as simple as turning on some sprinklers. Once the irrigation is going, it may also be necessary to let more water in from the reservoirs to keep the pump supplied.

Then, of course, we ride around to monitor both the soil and the equipment in order to fix any possible sprinkler malfunctions. “You have a little more margin for error than you do with frost,” Tug says. “It’s urgent, but you don’t need to move quite as fast.” He needs to make sure the sprinklers are both running at capacity and rotating completely in order to get the best cooling effect.

Even on young bogs, however, maintaining a balance is crucial in order to avoid phytophthora. If it infects and damages the root system, it could take more than one growing season for the bogs to recover.

signs of phytophthora in established bed

effects of phytophthora on roots

One of the strategic drivers to achieve our mission is increasing production over time through bog renovation and decreasing the time to achieve full production, which is essential to accomplish our growth objectives. And, like everything else we do here at Pine Island Cranberry, the key to achieving our goals is attention to detail. All of the things on this week’s tour shows our drive to be the very best and the amount of attention to detail that implementing our strategy takes.

Ditching

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We’ve talked before about how crucial good water management is for a successful cranberry operation. One of the most important tasks for irrigation and water management is ditching. The ditches surrounding every bog must be kept free of debris in order to ensure adequate water flow for both flooding and drainage.

First, a crew goes out to clear by hand; this is to make sure that the area around the actual irrigation pipes are cleared and visible. It’s easier to prevent damage than it is to repair it.

Alejandro Colon

Then, someone does the really heavy lifting with a machine. Pictured here is Rick Zapata, a Pine Island foreman who has been a part of our team for almost 38 years.

Rick Zapata

In general, the practice is simple but time-consuming. The machine moves slowly along the water line, removing the debris that has accumulated over the winter and placing it along the dam.

The debris will eventually be removed with a front-end loader.

Cleaning the ditches is important for two reasons. First, it helps maintain the proper moisture level in the soil. Second, and most importantly, removing water from the bogs quickly is urgent in case of a big rain event. Its importance was never more evident than last year, during the heavy rains of Hurricane Irene. Thanks to upholding Pine Island Cranberry’s core values of doing what we need to do when we need to do it and caring for the place where we live, work, and grow, we lessened the impact of the hurricane. Proper attention to detail by dedicated team members like Rick ensures that those core values are lived and not just hollow words.

Frost

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One of the toughest things cranberry growers do is managing springtime frost conditions. In the spring, there is a danger to the crop when the temperature drops. Typically, a cranberry bog is built at a lower level than the land immediately surrounding it and the bog temperature can drop ten to fifteen degrees lower than the uplands. These conditions make monitoring bog temperature a top priority once the winter water comes off. It’s no exaggeration to say there would be no crop if we didn’t watch for frost on the bogs. A night riding along with Jeremy Fenstermaker is an exercise in watching the weather, the water . . . and managing sleep patterns.

The call by our general manager usually goes out in the early evening; depending on the forecast, the frost team can go out anywhere from 9 P.M. to 1 A.M. This particular evening, we started at 9. The guys each have their own section to run: Jeremy’s is located on Sim Place. The night begins with making sure we have everything we need: boots, warm clothing, head lamps, and coffee (especially coffee!). And then we’re off for a long night in the middle of the bogs.

The first step is monitoring the temperature. Each bog has a thermometer (usually located in the coldest section) that requires frequent checking throughout the first part of the night.

Once the temperature drops to between 33 and 35 degrees Fahrenheit (depending on the stage of growth), it’s time to turn on the pumps. On these particular systems, the pumps need to be running at about 45 psi. More than forty years ago we used to flood the bogs to prevent frost damage; we now use sprinklers instead. When the water from the sprinklers freezes on the vines, it controls the temperature well enough to keep them from harm.


It’s also necessary to check the surrounding reservoirs and canals to make sure that the water supply is sufficient to supply the pumps.


That can take some time, and doesn’t always need to be done all at once. Depending on location and conditions–is the bog surrounded by woods? Where is the wind coming from? Is the sky clear or overcast?–some will be started earlier than others. Once they’re all started, though, the work isn’t over. The next thing is making sure all the sprinklers are working correctly. This means driving around with a spotlight and checking to make sure they’re running at full capacity.

It may sometimes be necessary to repair the sprinklers, as they won’t run at full capacity if something is blocking the line. This happens more frequently when the systems first start running, and becomes less of an issue after a few cold nights.

This goes on for the rest of the night. It does get a little easier when the sun comes up, simply because the light is better.

Once the sun comes up and we’re done the repairs, it’s time to start checking the temperature to see if it’s safe to turn off the pumps. Once the thermometer reads around 35 degrees or so and the ice is breaking up, we’re okay to shut down.

After the pumps are shut down and the paperwork is turned in, it’s off to get some sleep!