AgBioResearch

1. Develop irrigation, cooling, UV-protection, and cultivar strategies to reduce heat stress and fruit scald.
2. Improve fruit rot management under Michigan conditions through research on pathogens, infection timing, environmental triggers, cultivar susceptibility, and fungicide programs.
3. Improve false blossom detection and management, including cultivar susceptibility and blunt-nosed leafhopper monitoring and control.
4. Compare sanding, mechanical pruning, and combined approaches for their effects on yield, vine health, fruit quality, disease, and costs.
5. Evaluate cranberry cultivars for yield, quality, winter hardiness, and resistance to heat, scald, fruit rot, and false blossom.
6. Develop Michigan-specific recommendations for irrigation, drainage, soil and water pH, and nutrient management.

Updated August 2026