Fine-tuning blueberry nutrition for optimal yield and quality

Blueberries are a challenging crop to cultivate, as the plants don't readily absorb key nutrients, and the berries can therefore vary in flavour, quality and size. With an increasingly picky market, farmers need to optimise plant nutrition to obtain a consistent crop that commands high prices. Lindi Botha spoke to Dr David Marks.

Blueberries are a relatively new crop to South Africa, and with the frequent arrival of new varieties, finding the right recipe for optimal production is no easy matter. At the same time, the price of blueberries is decreasing after hitting a peak two years ago, which means that farmers now need to make the most from every input and hectare to ensure their sustainability. Unfortunately, their task is made far harder by the blueberry plant's notorious inefficiency at absorbing calcium (Ca) and nitrogen (N), both of which are key elements required for a good fruit crop. Simply adding more of either nutrient doesn't solve the problem. Instead, growers are advised to relook at application rates and methods, and the different forms of the elements. CALCIUM An adequate level of Ca improves both the…

You're reading a preview of

Farmer's Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 21 October 2022

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.