Articles
OVERVIEW ON VACCINIUM PRODUCTION IN EUROPE
Most of the natural resources of wild berries are found in pine forests of Scandinavia, Baltic States, Poland, Byelorussia, Ukraine, Russia, Germany and Alpine zone of Switzerland, France, Italy, as well as in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Romania.
Nevertheless, European countries became interested in growing of North American highbush blueberries in the early twenties.
The first plantation (10 ha) of highbush blueberry was established by Bergesius in Assen, Netherlands in 1923. Dr.
Piotr Hoser – the founder of the Faculty of Horticulture of Warsaw Agricultural University – SGGW, Poland imported some blueberry plants in 1924, which were winter-killed in 1929. A real progress was made by Dr.
Walter Heermann in Germany.
He was working at the Plant Breeding Institute in Landsberg/Warthe (today: Gorzów Wlkp.).
In 1929, he imported blueberry plants from the USA and started the breeding and cultivation of this crop, so far unknown in Germany.
He cooperated with Miss E. White and Dr.
F.V. Coville.
Using species, hybrids and seedlings from north America, he continued the work privately since 1934, resulting in a plantation that covered 50 ha by 1951. Heermann’s bred cultivars are as follow: ‘Blauweiss-Goldtraube’, ‘Blauweiss-Zukertraube’, ‘Heerma’, ‘Rekord’, ‘Ama’ and ‘Gretha’.
A real move on the blueberry as a new berry crop is noted in the postwar period.
In Germany, Prof.
G. Liebster of Munich Technical University and Prof DeHaas of the Hanover Technical University started their research work on the crop.
In 1957 the Working Group “Highbush Blueberries” was established by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, Research work and field trials are done in Bavaria and Lower Saxony.
The first book on blueberry culture “Die Kulturheidelbeeren” was written by Prof.
G. Liebster in 1961.
Today over 90% of the blueberry industry is in the North-West of the country and the rest in Bavaria.
Total acreage is estimated to be 600 ha and berry production over 2000 tons.
Average yield is estimated 2.5–4 tons per ha but best farms produce 6–10 tons per ha.
The main cultivar is Bluecrop followed by ‘Bluetta’, ‘Duke’, ‘Nui’, ‘Reka’, ‘Puru’, ‘Patriot’, ‘Spartan’, ‘Berkeley’ and German breed ‘Heerma’, ‘Ama’ and ‘Gretha’. Limiting factor is the soil previously used for agriculture crops, so the blueberry growth and crop yields are very low.
State law forbids to use virgin forest land for blueberry planting.