• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.319-325
• /
• 2018

The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of different fertilizer combinations on the growth, yield, and fruit quality of 'Duke' blueberry cultivar and the water quality of growth medium. The experiment was carried out with three year old 'Duke' blueberry bushes which were cultivated in containers ($60{\times}80{\times}40cm$) filled with 130 L peat moss and 40 L pearlite (v/v). Sawdust was used as the mulch in growth containers. Three different fertilizer combinations (FC) i.e., FC-1 consisted with standard solution, FC-2 consisted with nitrogen reduced by 10% from FC-1, and FC-3 consisted with nitrogen reduced by 20% from FC-1 were tested while, the ground water used as the control. The effects of different fertilizer combinations on shoot diameter, shoot length, number of shoots, leaf length, SPAD value (the relative content of chlorophyll), berry weight, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, and yield per bush in 'Duke' blueberry were examined. Also, the effects of different fertilizer combinations on pH, EC, $NH_4$ and $NO_3$ in 'Duke' blueberry growth medium were monitored. The highest pH and lowest EC, $NH_4$ and $NO_3$ in growth medium was recorded with control treatment during the experiment period. The maximum shoot diameter (3.7 mm) and shoot length (35.7 cm) was recorded for the FC-1. Highest number of shoots (47%) were recorded from 'Duke' blueberry bushes supplemented with FC-1 compared to other treatments. The fertilizer combinations supplemented with nitrogen showed significant influence on leaf length and SPAD value compared to control 'Duke' blueberry bushes. However, the fruit quality attributes, i.e., berry weight, soluble solids content, and titratable acidity were not significant different among fertilizer treatments. The significantly highest yields per bush were recorded for FC-1, FC-2, and FC-3, as 2.2, 2.9, and 2.7 kg, respectively compared to control (0.2 kg). Although, the FC-1 was supplemented with highest nitrogen content it resulted low yield per bush while having high number of shoots and vigorous growth.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.447-453
• /
• 2019

In this study, the effect of supplying volume and frequency of a nutrient solution consisted with $NO_3-N$ 4.6, $NH_4-N$ 3.4, $PO_4-P$ 3, K 3, Ca 4.6 and Mg $2.2mmol{\cdot}L^{-1}$ on growth and fruit quality of 'Duke' blueberry was investigated. Three years old 'Duke' blueberry bushes cultivated in containers ($60{\times}80{\times}40cm$) filled with 130L peat moss and 40L pearlite (v/v) were selected for the experiment. The growth containers were mulched with sawdust. Two different volumes (4L and 8L) of nutrient solution was tested at three different supplying frequencies (one time, two times, and three times) per week and the drainage quality of nutrient solution and fruit quality of 'Duke' blueberry was evaluated. The optimal drainage rate for the vegetable cultivation is known to be 20-30%. The results revealed that the average drainage rates of 27% and 29% for the nutrient solution supplied in 'Duke' blueberry growth medium at 4L, 2 times/7 days and 4L, 3 times/7days, respectively. The highest shoot diameter (4.2mm) and shoot length (31cm) of 'Duke' blueberry was recorded with the 8L of nutrient solution supplied at 3 times per 7 days. According to the analysis of inorganic components in the drainage of nutrient solution, there was a tendency of absorbing nitrogen at the early stage of growth. The supplying volume and frequency of nutrient solution was not significantly affected on 'Duke' blueberry fruit weight, soluble solids content, and titratable acidity. The highest yield per bush (2.7kg) was recorded for the nutrient solution supplied with 4L at three times per 7 days, while the 4L nutrient solution supplied at one time per 7 days resulted the lowest yield of 1.4kg per bush. Consequently, the tested nutrient solution can be applied for the 'Duke' blueberry bushes with the volume of 4L at three times per week for the better crop growth.