Chasing Color
Cranberry Station Research Bears Fruit for Industry
Text and photos by
Jason Johnson
Around this time of year, cranberries are a traditional and cherished addition to the holiday table—and UMass researchers are working to ensure that these beloved burgundy gems will thrive for generations to come.
Like many other crops, cranberries are at risk from the effects of climate change. The first week of September 2023 saw overnight lows in the 70s in the cranberry bogs of southeastern Massachusetts, including at UMass Amherst Cranberry Station in East Wareham, part of the UMass Amherst campus. Those temperatures are in contrast with the 50s or lower that cranberry growers and the researchers at Cranberry Station hope to see at that time of year. The red pigments that give cranberries their signature color—anthocyanins—are produced in the fruit as a response to environmental cues, like day length and temperature. Without cooler temperatures, cranberries remain white or pink and growers are “chasing color”—waiting for the berries to turn deep red for collection and processing, and hoping to beat the rot that can happen if it takes too long.
Take a peek inside Cranberry Station to see how researchers are working to support the next generation of growers and the $1.7B Massachusetts cranberry industry.
Giverson Mupambi shares research findings in the experimental bogs at UMass Cranberry Station
The red pigments that give cranberries their signature color, anthocyanins, are activated by environmental cues like less daylight and cooler temperatures
Collecting cranberries in a flooded bog in Carver, MA
Left to right: Mike Fox, dean of the College of Natural Sciences, and Hilary Sandler, director of UMass Cranberry Station, take in the view during harvest 2023
A 1930s Bailey cranberry sorting machine in action
Summer Saad, Cranberry Station farm assistant, shows the wide range of color variation in a handful of freshly collected cranberries
The crew uses a suction tube and machinery to collect and sort cranberries, separating good fruit for processing from rotten fruit for compost
Left to right: Mike Fox, dean of UMass Amherst College of Natural Sciences; Lynne McLandsborough, interim director of the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, and Hilary Sandler, director of UMass Cranberry Station
A different kind of visitor to the cranberry bog
A moment of reflection on the 2023 cranberry harvest
Learn more about the UMass Cranberry Station and how researchers are working to find sustainable solutions to the threats facing the cranberry industry.
We’re on the lookout
Share your most intriguing nooks, niches, coordinates, or curiosities on campus or anywhere in the region. Email magazine@umass.edu and we’ll investigate!