How to Grow Blueberries: A Detailed Guide to Southern Blueberry Cultivation Techniques

As an emerging fruit industry, blueberry cultivation has developed rapidly in the southern provinces of China in recent years. The provinces along the Yangtze River basin, Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, and Guangdong and Guangxi in South China are all vigorously promoting blueberries as a new tree species for adjusting the agricultural planting structure. But generally speaking, blueberries are mostly grown in the north. Today, the editor will talk with you about southern blueberry cultivation techniques.

I. Choosing varieties

The blueberry varieties suitable for southern production areas fall into two main categories: rabbiteye and southern highbush.

The rabbiteye varieties ripen from mid-June to mid-August, which is exactly the peak fruiting period of open-field northern blueberry production. Because of their poorer flavor, they have no advantage in nationwide large-market competition compared with northern blueberry varieties. However, rabbiteye blueberries have relatively less strict soil requirements, are easier to cultivate, and are simple to manage, so they are still a variety type worth recommending for southern production areas. At present, the relatively stable and recommended varieties are “Brightwell” and “Baldwin”.

Southern highbush varieties ripen early and fetch high market prices, giving them strong market competitiveness. At present, the most established varieties are “Sharpblue” and “O'Neal” (early ripening), “Misty” (mid-season), “Brigitta” and “Legacy” (late ripening). Among them, “Biloxi”, as a variety with a very low chilling requirement, is worth recommending in southern regions, especially in Hainan and South China production areas.

II. Planting density

For highbush blueberries, a plant spacing of (1.0-1.5) m × (2.0-3.0) m is suitable; for rabbiteye blueberries, a plant spacing of 1.5 m (2.0-2.5) m is often chosen. In southern China, an appropriate density can be selected according to the actual management objectives.

III. Training and pruning of blueberries

Blueberries are perennial multi-stemmed shrubs, and their training and pruning differ from that of large-fruited fruit trees. Moreover, the pruning methods for highbush blueberries and rabbiteye blueberries also differ, so they must be treated differently.

The main task of pruning highbush blueberries is to regulate the current year's fruiting and the next year's fruiting potential. For young trees, training and pruning mainly serve to maintain the balance between the aboveground and belowground parts and to promote the earliest possible formation of the canopy. Generally, in the 1st-2nd years after planting, the main practice is removing flower buds; in the 3rd year, pruning mainly involves thinning out weak basal branches and diseased or pest-damaged branches and keeping the canopy upright so that the fruit stays off the ground after fruiting, with the 3rd-year yield per plant controlled at about 1 kg. Generally, before the 3rd-4th year after planting, the amount of pruning is not large.