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Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association / Thirty-eighth annual proceedings of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers' Association. Thirty-eighth convention, Pavilion, near Nekoosa, Wisconsin, August 12, 1924. Thirty-eighth annual meeting, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, January 13, 1925
(1924-1925)
Fracker, S. B.
Planning for state-wide cranberry insect control, pp. 23-27
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Page 24
24 WISCONSIN CRANBERRY GROWERS' ASSOCIATION ures appear to be, to a large measure, impracticable. Control meas- ures for the principal sources of loss have been worked out by the Wisconsin Experiment Station and those of other states but for their value depend on an accurate observation and appraisal of conditions in the bogs from month to month and from year to year. No one thinks of flooding for the blackheaded fireworm, for example, unless that worm is present and, in the same way, there is no reason for rushing cranberries to the market at the beginning of the season to avoid storage rots, if the outlook is that the berries may be kept in a healthy condition until or into the winter. For this reason the plan of state aid which has been worked out by the growers is particularly adaptable to your conditions. It con- templates placing a full time man in the field, trained in entomology, plant pathology and cranberry growing, to keep in continuous touch with the insect and fungus conditions on the bogs, see that the grow- ers are informed, and suggest control measures. The cranberry plant is one of the smallest with which horticultural and agricultural in- dustries have to deal, and a determination of the true conditions at any time requires a series of detailed observations and a concentra- tion which the grower himself during the busy season is not in a position to give. As you know, the preliminary test of this plan, made two or three years ago, proved its practicability in every respect. Incipient fire- worm outbreaks were detected and, in every case but one, satisfac- torily eradicated through the cooperation of the growers. The small amount of work which was done that season appears to have in- creased the cranberry crop here in the amount of several thousand barrels, paying large dividends on the small state investment in the project. If the growers are thoroughly back of a plan of this kind I have every confidence that the legislature will provide the necessary funds. The fact that there were difficulties in the way two years ago is no reason for discouragement as conditions were peculiar and unfortun- ately the sponsor of the measure was in the hospital at a very criti- cal stage in the proceedings. The Finance Committee will wish to be convinced of the thorough sincerity and the overwhelming support of the growers and of the practicability and definiteness of the plan. If a delegation from the association is unanimous in supporting it and brings out the importance of the measure to state prosperity, you can be assured of every courtesy. The proposal at this time is particularly fortunate as it works in with a broader land utilization policy rapidly increasing in favor. Fif- teen years ago the pendulum was swinging toward extensive refor- estation projects, and the public favored replanting the land from which the fine timber was vanishing into the sawmills. The move- ment, however, seems to have been overdone and as a reaction efforts have been made for the last decade or more to settle the broad spaces
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