Articles
Management techniques for reducing soil pH in organic northern highbush blueberry
Article number
1440_71
Pages
521 – 526
Language
English
Abstract
A 3-year study was established in a new organic planting of ‘Duke’ northern highbush blueberry to evaluate crop and soil response to soil acidification methods at a site in eastern Oregon, USA, with a calcareous soil.
Six techniques of applying elemental sulfur (S ) prills, with and without additional acidification of irrigation water, were tested.
Treatments consisted of: 1) a grower standard of soil incorporated S prills (1700 kg ha‑1) applied 8 months pre-plant; 2) 8 weeks of fertigated micronized S (150 kg ha‑1) starting at planting; 3) soil incorporated S prills (1700 kg ha‑1) during bed shaping directly before planting; 4) soil incorporated S prills (1700 kg ha‑1) during bed shaping, followed by fertigated micronized S (150 kg ha‑1) for 8 weeks after planting; 5) the grower standard of soil-incorporated S prills, followed by surface applied S prills (500 kg ha‑1) in spring of year 2; and 6) 8 weeks of fertigated micronized S (150 kg ha‑1), followed by surface applied S prills (500 kg ha‑1) in spring of year 2. On average, soil pH was lower and yield was higher when the plants were irrigated with acidified water than with non-acidified water, suggesting that acidification of irrigation water is beneficial for managing soil pH in establishing fields where native soils are calcareous and high in pH. Among the S application techniques, soil pH, yield, fruit quality, and fresh pruning weight were similar between the grower standard and treatments receiving S prills directly before planting.
Thus, the grower standard of at least an 8-month fallow period after incorporation of S prills may not be necessary, allowing fields to be brought into production more rapidly with S° incorporated at bed shaping.
Six techniques of applying elemental sulfur (S ) prills, with and without additional acidification of irrigation water, were tested.
Treatments consisted of: 1) a grower standard of soil incorporated S prills (1700 kg ha‑1) applied 8 months pre-plant; 2) 8 weeks of fertigated micronized S (150 kg ha‑1) starting at planting; 3) soil incorporated S prills (1700 kg ha‑1) during bed shaping directly before planting; 4) soil incorporated S prills (1700 kg ha‑1) during bed shaping, followed by fertigated micronized S (150 kg ha‑1) for 8 weeks after planting; 5) the grower standard of soil-incorporated S prills, followed by surface applied S prills (500 kg ha‑1) in spring of year 2; and 6) 8 weeks of fertigated micronized S (150 kg ha‑1), followed by surface applied S prills (500 kg ha‑1) in spring of year 2. On average, soil pH was lower and yield was higher when the plants were irrigated with acidified water than with non-acidified water, suggesting that acidification of irrigation water is beneficial for managing soil pH in establishing fields where native soils are calcareous and high in pH. Among the S application techniques, soil pH, yield, fruit quality, and fresh pruning weight were similar between the grower standard and treatments receiving S prills directly before planting.
Thus, the grower standard of at least an 8-month fallow period after incorporation of S prills may not be necessary, allowing fields to be brought into production more rapidly with S° incorporated at bed shaping.
Publication
Authors
S.B. Lukas, A.D. Gregory, D.R. Bryla, L.W. DeVetter, A.J. Davis, S. Singh
Keywords
calcareous soil, ‘Duke’, soil acidification, sulfur, Vaccinium corymbosum
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