The cranberry industry in the United States, especially in Massachusetts, is at a crossroads where agricultural success and environmental concerns are at odds....
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is a grower-owned marketing cooperative whose members account for approximately 80 percent of all commercial cranberry growers in North America. As a result, Ocean Spray has close ties with its more than 700 individual grower members....
The University of Massachusetts added cranberries to their existing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs four years ago and developed field scouting guidelines for justifying insect control action. Ocean Spray has supported the program with grant-in-aid funds and program planning. Pesticide use reduction has averaged about 25 percent, and some growers have reduced as much as 75 percent of their sprays in some years through IPM....
