Blueberry is a crop of the family of Ericaceae (Ericaceae), of the genus Vaccinium. It is a perennial shrub of deciduous leaves with a root system composed of roots devoid of absorbent hairs, mostly located 50-60 cm deep, so they need light and deep soils with very good drainage, with high content in matter organic and with a pH 4.4-5.5. Blueberry is a very sensitive crop to salinity and water stress.
Blueberry is a highly prized fruit because its antioxidant properties and its vitamins C, E and provitamin A content. It’s a fruit with very beneficial health characteristics. This has been the main reason why its consumption has grown in Europe, mainly in Germany.
Huelva is the province with the highest production of blueberries in Spain and the main producing area in Europe in spring. Regarding the blueberry varieties, they are selected for each zone based on the number of cold hours they need to accumulate for their sprouting.
Some of the main varieties planted in the province of Huelva are the following: Star, Centra Blue, Windsor and Legacy. The obtaining of new varieties tends to improve precocity, quality and post-harvest, fundamental aspects for improving performance and our position in the main European markets. As a result of this genetic improvement, new varieties such as Manila, Malibu, Marina, Madeira, Maldiva and Masirah have appeared in recent years.
In the cultivation of blueberries, proper management of nutrition is very important. The contribution of the different nutritional elements must be made at the appropriate times of the crop and the necessary amount depends on the expected yield.
Blueberry Fertilisation
Jisa® recommends to prepare a design of a correct fertilization program based on an analysis of the physical and chemical properties of the soil.
Each nutritional element plays a different and essential role in the cultivation of blueberries. Nitrogen (N) is an essential element to improve vegetative growth and plant vigour in general. Phosphorus (P) promotes root development and improves flowering. Potassium (K) increases the size and firmness of fruit and improves the fruit taste. Calcium (Ca) improves fruit set and size. Magnesium (Mg) helps to the photosynthetic activity of the leaves. Sulphur (S) contributes to reduce the pH of the soil and encourages leaf coloration. Boron (B) is actively involved in the phase of fruit set and favours a better sprouting for next season. Zinc (Zn) increases fruit setting and improves rooting of new plants.
Blueberry is a very sensitive crop to environmental conditions and soil properties. If we want to get the best yield from our crop, we must resort to advanced nutrition products that guarantee:
- a better absorption efficiency of the essential elements.
- a good contribution of organic matter.
- a biostimulant effect.
For root development, as important in new plantations as in crops already established from the budding stage, which assures us of a strong and vigorous plant, from Jisa®, we recommend the use by fertirrigation of: Raici and Libamin Radicular, products that guarantees the greatest number of roots and their strengthening. The use of humic acids: Humilig 25 Plus, will improve the soil properties. The soils in the cultivation of blueberries, are high demanding in terms of pH and the contribution of soil organic matter.
From Jisa® we recommend, in the budding stage, foliar applications of Nutrijisa Zn, Jisabiol and Glybet for the strengthening of the shoots, in order obtain a good vegetative development and favour that the crop can tolerate adverse environmental conditions of temperature and humidity. The use of Fulvin 40-22/Furdos is recommended by fertirrigation throughout the crop season. The application of Fulvin 40-22/Furdos in the vegetative phase of the crop will help us to have a greater development, and during the productive phase we will achieve a greater caliber and quality of fruit due to the increase in the efficiency of nutrition and the biostimulant effect that it gives to the crops.
The obtained harvest will be directly related to the amount of fruit that the plant gets set. Cuajemax, is a specific product for this vegetative phase of the crop.
The higher number of fruit set in a plant, the greater incidence we will have to do in order to obtain a good commercial size. Gorfrut will guarantee us an adequate fruit size to obtain the required production.
The advance of the harvest can be interesting for the farmer, since it often means reaching the market with better prices. The homogenization of the crop means that the labour cost can be reduced. Top-K is a special product developed to advance the ripening of the fruits, it promotes a higher ºBrix content in the fruits and a better post-harvest.
During the course of the cultivation it is advisable to perform foliar analysis to anticipate any deficiency in any nutritional element. Jisa® has deficiency correctors complexed with organic acids (Nutrijisa) and chelated correctors (Jisaquel). Tarssan Mix is a mix of chelated microelements to prevent any deficiency in any microelement during cultivation. From Jisa® we recommend that once the harvest of blueberry fruits has been carried out, even with the leaves on the plant, we begin to take care about next season crop. We recommend the realization of post-harvest treatments to increase the plant reserves to face the sprouting of next year. Jisamar and Nutrijisa Zn are products that fulfil this requirement, to which Jisabiol and Glybet could be added, products that would provide nitrogen to the new sprouts and protect the plants from cold damage or sudden humidity changes.
In summary, a balanced nutrition of the crop will be essential to obtain the yield and the quality that we propose, as well as a well-nourished crop will be more tolerant of diseases. For all this, we must consider the crop nutrition as an investment and not as an extra expense, since by investing in nutrition we will obtain greater production and quality that will become into better economic results of our exploitation.
Arturo García – Area manager for Western Andalusia and Portugal