Drip irrigation can create soil conditions with uniform humidity and good air permeability, directly transport water and nutrients to crop roots, and reduce fertilizer and water consumption while increasing production. Therefore, drip irrigation is the most cost-effective irrigation method in blueberry cultivation.
Blueberry (Vaccinium Spp.), scientific name Vaccinium, belongs to Rhododendronaceae Vaccinium plant, originated in North America, is a small shrub berry. Distributed worldwide. It mainly grows in warm and sunny areas with an altitude of 900 meters to 2,300 meters.
Half-highbush blueberries are suitable for planting in temperate cold regions, northern highbush blueberries and some half-highbush blueberries are suitable for planting in warm temperate regions, and rabbit-eye blueberries and southern highbush blueberries are suitable for planting in subtropical regions.
Normal flowering and fruiting of lowbush blueberries requires 800-1200 hours at a low temperature of <7.2°C, 200-800 hours for highbush blueberries, and 450-850 hours for rabbit-eye blueberries.
Blueberries can tolerate high temperatures of 40-50°C during the growing season, and the most suitable temperature for growth is 25°C.
Blueberry likes acidic soil, the suitable pH range is 4.0-5.2, and the most suitable pH value is 4.5-4.8. Sensitive to salinity, when soil EC or irrigation water EC exceeds 1.0, it will cause yield reduction. It likes ammonium nitrogen fertilizer, but not calcium.
Blueberry has a dispersed root system with shallow roots and no root hairs. The root system of highbush blueberry is mainly distributed in the soil layer above 30cm, and the root system of rabbit eye blueberry can reach the soil layer above 60cm.
Blueberries are particularly sensitive to soil moisture. Too dry will cause blueberries to lack water, and too wet will cause soil air permeability to decrease, the roots cannot breathe, and they will die.
Soil cultivation usually raises high ridges; the superiority of substrate cultivation is also becoming more and more prominent.
