Cranberry Man: Rutgers’ Nicholi Vorsa breeds better berries

Nicholi Vorsa’s work breeding cranberries has followed the demands of the industry through the decades. Consumer uses have evolved from Thanksgiving dinner sauce to juice, and now sweetened-and-dried Craisins. Growers’ needs have also changed, from producing higher yields to finding a firmer berry for mechanical harvesting, and Vorsa’s extensive work toward fruit rot resistance and better tastes may bear fruit far into the future. The director of the Marucci Center for Blueberry & Cranberry Research & Extension has worked in cranberries and blueberries since 1985, when he earned his doctorate degree at Rutgers University.