PRODUCTIVITY OF SOME BLUEBERRY CULTIVARS UNDER LATVIA CONDITIONS

Success in the cultivation of highbush and half-highbush blueberry has been achieved in Latvia.
The objective of the research was to evaluate highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) cultivation possibilities in northern conditions.
The field trial with six highbush and four half-highbush blueberry cultivars was established in western Latvia.
To select cultivars for research, we took into consideration the winter hardiness of plants and harvest season of berries during 2007-2009. In 2007, the greatest winter hardiness was observed for ‘Polaris’, ‘Chippewa’, ‘Northblue’ and ‘Patriot’, while the lowest winter hardiness was observed in ‘Duke’. In 2008 and 2009, changing weather conditions did not do significant damage to plantations.
The yields of ‘Patriot’, ‘Northland’ and ‘Chippewa’ were the highest.
The berry weight ranged from 1.1 to 2.6 g. ‘Chandler’, ‘Northblue’ and ‘Bluecrop’ had the largest berry size – an average diameter of 17 to 20 mm.
The results showed that highbush blueberries grew well under Latvia conditions and we can recommend all of these cultivars for commercial cultivation, except for ‘Chandler’. The harvest season of ‘Chandler’ was too late.

XXVIII International Horticultural Congress on Science and Horticulture for People (IHC2010): International Symposium on Berries: From Genomics to Sustainable Production, Quality and Health

D. Sterne, M. Liepniece , M. Abolins

Vaccinium corymbosum, highbush and half-highbush blueberry, winter hardiness, harvest season, yield, berry weight

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.926.26