Blueberry planting techniques

Blueberry belongs to rhododendron family blueberry belongs to berry shrub. Blueberry anthocyanins and other substances unique in its fruit have the effects of improving eyesight, anti-aging and anti-cancer, and are known as "functional health berries in the 21st century" and "queen of fruits". It has been listed as one of the five major health foods by the International Food and Agriculture Organization and has become popular in Europe, the United States and Japan in recent years. Due to the unique nutrition and health care function of blueberries, there is a great demand in the international market, and the price is expensive, so the products are in short supply.

Variety characteristics of blueberry

Blueberry fruit is similar in size to cherry, blue and bright blue, sweet and sour flavor and special aroma, excellent taste. There is almost no feeling in the tiny entrance of blueberry seeds, and there are no inedible parts such as cherry stalks and seeds, so it is very convenient to eat.

Blueberry plants are classified as blueberries of the genus Ericaceae. They are called blueberries because of their blue fruit. They are mainly distributed in North America and Europe. The tree is 1-2m high, likes acid soil, and is not resistant to drought. At present, there are nearly 200 cultivated varieties worth popularizing all over the world, which can be divided into:

1. Bushes blueberries and north high bushes blueberries suitable for colder areas in the north

2. Southern high bushes blueberries suitable for southern warm temperate zone.

3. It is suitable for rabbit-eyed blueberries in the south.

Among them, the flavor and anthocyanin content of blueberry in Beigao Cong are better than those of the other two types, and the demand is the greatest in the international market.

Blueberry is a perennial deciduous or evergreen shrub, the fruit is blue, nearly round, the single fruit weighs 0.5-2.5 grams, and the seeds are very small. The flesh is delicate, moderately sweet and sour and fragrant. Can be eaten fresh, can also be processed into jam, fruit juice, fruit wine and so on. Blueberry cultivation began in the United States. Almost all of the original blueberry varieties in China are wild and are not suitable for cultivation. More than 20 years ago, China began to introduce excellent foreign varieties, and so far it has introduced more than 20 varieties, but it has not yet formed a large-scale production capacity.

Garden construction of blueberry planting

1. Garden site selection

Blueberry cultivation has a wide range, and suitable varieties can be selected according to the local climate, but it is not suitable for development in the northern areas where there is little snow and is vulnerable to frost. The slope of the selected garden should be small and should not exceed 10 degrees; the soil pH value is 4.0-5.5, and the optimum range is 4.3-4.8; the soil organic matter content is not less than 5%; the soil is loose, well ventilated, moist but without stagnant water.

2. Garden preparation

After the garden is selected, the green manure should be pressed and turned deeply one year before planting, and the depth should be 20-25 cm, and the soil should be prepared after deep turning and ripening. Before planting, the soil that does not fully meet the requirements should be improved to facilitate the growth of blueberries.

3. Colonization

Blueberries can be planted in spring or autumn, with a high survival rate in autumn, and early rather than late in spring. The row spacing is 2 m × 2 m or 1.5 m × 3 m for rabbit-eyed blueberries, 1.2 m × 2 m for tall blueberries and 0.5 × 1 m for dwarf blueberries. Rabbit eye blueberry white flowers are not real, it is best to configure high clump blueberries as pollination varieties. The white flower fruiting rate of blueberry in high clump and dwarf clump is higher, but the configuration of pollination trees can improve fruit quality and yield. The allocation ratio of main varieties to pollinated varieties was 1 ∶ 1 or 1 ∶ 2.

Soil, Fertilizer and Water Management of Blueberry planting

1. Soil management

Blueberry root distribution is shallow, and slender, no root hair, so the soil is required to be loose and well ventilated.

① clean tillage method. Clear ploughing can be carried out from early spring to August, and it is disadvantageous to overwintering after entering autumn. Clear tillage is often used to cultivate tall blueberries on sandy loam. The suitable depth of ploughing is 5cm to 10cm, too deep is easy to damage the root system.

② grass growing method. Weeds are grown between rows, while herbicides are used in the rows. Compared with the clean tillage method, the grass growing method is also beneficial to increase the yield, and has the advantages of maintaining soil moisture and being convenient for mechanical operation.

③ soil mulch. Soil mulching is widely used in blueberry production. It can increase soil organic matter, improve soil structure, regulate and maintain soil moisture, reduce soil pH value, control weeds and so on. Covering the dwarf blueberry soil with 5-10 cm sawdust can increase the yield by 30% and the single fruit weight by 50% in 3 years. Leaves, straw and other crop straws can also be used, but the effect is not as good as sawdust.

④ weeding. Weeding is a very important link in the management of blueberry orchard, which can increase the yield by more than twice. Chemical herbicides are widely used in blueberry production. This is because the cost of manual weeding is high, and it is easy to damage the roots, especially in the cultivation of dwarf blueberries. because the rhizomes walk in series, the whole orchard can not be weeded manually a few years later. The commonly used herbicides in blueberry orchard are diuron, simazine, chlorphenamine, 2,6-dichlorobenzene, glyphosate, paraquat and so on.

2. Fertilization

The type of ① fertilization. The effect of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound fertilizer is better than that of single fertilizer, the suitable ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizer is 1 ∶ 1 ∶ 1, ammonium nitrogen fertilizer such as ammonium sulfate is better, nitrate nitrogen fertilizer is not suitable, blueberry is sensitive to chlorine, do not choose chlorine fertilizer such as ammonium chloride and potassium chloride.

② fertilization method and period. Tall bushes and rabbit-eyed blueberries can be ditched with a suitable depth of 10 to 15 centimeters; dwarf blueberries form a garden and are mainly spread. Fertilization is carried out before sprouting in early spring, or it can be applied again in the berry ripening period.

The amount of ③ fertilizer applied. Excessive fertilization is very easy to damage or even kill the whole blueberry tree, so the amount of fertilizer application must be determined according to soil fertility and tree nutritional status.