POTENTIAL FOR BLUEBERRY GROWING IN CHILE

Seventeen cultivars of highbush and 16 of rabbiteye are under evaluation at 3 locations in southern Chile, but only highbush cultivars are old enough to be evaluated.
Phenological records indicate that cultivars do not differ substantially in flowering dates at any location and that fruit ripening occurs between December and January, when there is no fresh fruit in the US and European markets. ‘Stanley’, ‘Blueray’, and ‘Bluecrop’ bear the largest fruit, and production was highest for ‘Stanley’ and ‘Bluecrop’ for the first fruting years.
Evalutions show that highbush cvs. are able to grow under Chilean conditions, but that establishment of the plants is slow and difficult, particularly due to inadequate soil conditions.
Native pH of most soils in Chile is over 5.5, despite the volcanic origin of some of them.
Diseases detected so far include Pseudomonas syringae and Phomopsis vaccinii, a species of quarantine importance.
No pests have caused problems, except for the larvae of native weevil (Aegorhinus supercillosus) which severely damaged roots at one location.

IV International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture

C. Muñoz, W. Lobos, A. Lavin, J. Valenzuela

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1989.241.2