Underdrain – Water Management

Drainage is another key element in Pine Island Cranberry’s water management program. In addition to having irrigation systems that reduce water usage, well-drained soil is necessary to keep a bog’s root system functional. Beds should be designed for adequate drainage, which is essential for good root development and aeration as well as prevention of conditions that can lead to the presence of Phytophthora, which causes fruit rot and root rot.

Kylie Naylor and Kelvin Colon have been in charge of monitoring soil conditions in our young bogs, and their most recent project, in addition to the lampinenometers, has been installing underdrain in bogs that tend to hold on to standing water. They laid the groundwork (so to speak) about a week or so ago by scouting out the areas with the most problems and then staking out the lines where necessary. Kylie also used foreman Jeremy Fenstermaker as a resource to finalize the plan.

The stakes are lined up according to the plan. Caesar Colon then backs the trencher up to the stake that marks the starting point, where Kelvin is standing as a guide. “The trench has to be deeper than the actual underdrain, and it’s also important to have the endpipe angled slightly down to avoid backflow,” explains Kylie. Once it’s set up, Caesar raises the trencher a bit. When it’s at eight inches, he uses the laser level to keep the trench level and the line straight. He’ll take the trencher to the far end, where there is another stake to help keep him in a straight line and make sure the team knows where to stop.

While the trench is being dug, the endpipe and the underdrain are set up. “Right now we’ve had time to stretch out the pipe while the trencher was being moved [from Panama to Savannah]. It saves time to have that done first.” It’s a pretty simple process: there’s a snap adapter on the endpipe, which a team member then connects to the underdrain and places in the trench.

In the meantime, another team member follows the trencher with a shovel, making sure things are level, with no hills. Once the drain is stretched out, he then follows the team members placing the pipe and covers it. It goes fairly quickly. The bigger the bog, the more people you need, but on an established bog they can do about 100 feet in ten minutes. The drains start to work just about that quickly, as well!

In the newer bogs at Panama, the team had to set down wooden planks for the trencher to run on, so it didn’t make ruts next to drains and cause more problems. This makes it necessary for another team member to go out and till the areas where the boards were placed. “It’s tricky,” says team member Casey Koehler, who has been doing this task. “I have to be careful not to tear up the plants, so it can take a little while.”

In addition to underdrain repair, Kelvin has been monitoring the areas in all the young bogs with standing water. He does whatever it takes to get the vines what they need: dig a trench, dig a hole to the existing underdrain, make sure ditches and pipes are clean, et cetera.


In this, as in everything else we do here at Pine Island, our team is constantly evaluating conditions and practices in ways that ensure both better decision making and optimal production.

Pine Island Cranberry – Drainage from Pine Island Cranberry on Vimeo.