How much do blueberry seedlings cost? A detailed guide to growing methods

Blueberry, also known as bilberry, has beautiful-colored fruit with a unique flavor and rich nutrition, and is deeply loved by consumers; it is a fruit tree variety with relatively high economic value and broad development prospects. So how much do blueberry seedlings cost? How do you grow them?

1. How much do blueberry seedlings cost?

The price of blueberry seedlings is directly related to their size. Generally, small-sized blueberry seedlings cost about 5-7 yuan/plant (except for particularly expensive varieties), while large-sized ones can sell for several dozen yuan per plant.

2. How are blueberry seedlings grown?

1. Site selection

For blueberry planting, it is advisable to choose the middle and lower parts of east-facing or south-facing slopes, with a slope of less than 30°; when the slope is steep, terraces should be built. As far as possible, choose a site with loose, fertile soil, good drainage, and moisture without water accumulation to establish the orchard.

Blueberry growth requires strongly acidic soil conditions. The key to cultivating blueberries is soil improvement, adjusting the soil pH to around 5, with soil organic matter content of no less than 5%.

There are many propagation methods for blueberries, such as cuttings, seedling propagation, division, and other methods. At present, blueberry cultivation in China mainly uses cutting propagation in production, while other methods such as seed seedling raising, rhizome cuttings, and division are also used.

In recent years, through the continuous efforts of growers, in-depth research has been carried out on methods such as tissue culture, and a relatively simple blueberry propagation method has been explored for various regions. The factory-based seedling raising method of tissue culture has been applied in production. The development and application of this technology has provided a large number of virus-free seedlings for blueberry production and has gradually become the direction of future high-quality blueberry seedling production.

2. Variety selection

Middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River: For plots with strong soil stickiness, give priority to highly adaptable varieties such as Nanjin, rabbit eye Brightwell, and Emerald.

Humid and cool microclimate areas in the south: Some southern highbush varieties can be chosen for planting, such as Misty, O'Neal, Emerald, and Jewel.

Northern regions: Mainly northern highbush blueberries; in protected facilities, it is recommended to plant the northern highbush early-maturing large-fruited variety Duke, or southern highbush early-maturing varieties such as O'Neal and Misty.

Considering factors such as labor and management, the area of a contiguous orchard should not be too large (100-300 mu is recommended), and the number of varieties should not be too many (2-3 varieties), to facilitate management.

3. Soil improvement

In order to thoroughly improve the soil environment for blueberry growth, thorough soil improvement is recommended, amending the entire orchard.

In the autumn of the year before planting, first deep-plow the entire orchard to more than 40-60 cm, dig drainage ditches, level gentle slopes into a gentle gradient, and broadcast sulfur powder. The specific amount should be determined according to the measured soil pH; to ensure even application, it can be broadcast and rotary-tilled in two passes.

For orchard rotary tillage and deep plowing, before rotary tilling again, the material input per mu is: about 5 cubic meters of peat, about 3 tons of organic fertilizer, and sawdust or bark with a diameter of 3-5 cm as mulch at a thickness of 5-10 cm, 30-50 cubic meters per mu.

To avoid nitrogen deficiency caused by sawdust, 15 kg/mu of urea or other types of nitrogen fertilizer also needs to be added together with the sawdust. Ensure that all materials are mixed evenly with the orchard soil, and after ridging, the improved soil basically returns to the ridges.

4. Planting

Planting time: Blueberries can be planted in spring, autumn, or winter; in Northeast China, late spring planting is best.

Seedling selection: The seedling height should preferably be 35-50 cm, with 2-3 or more upright, robust branches; the main trunk branches should be healthy and not aged, with few old and weak branches; do not use old seedlings. The root system should be light yellow, well developed, not blackened, and without circling roots.

Planting method: When planting, dig planting holes on the ridge, generally about 40×40×40 cm in size. Add 5 kg of organic fertilizer and 30-50 g of compound fertilizer at the bottom as base fertilizer; after adding, mix thoroughly with soil and leave it in the bottom layer. Cover with a layer of soil, then add some peat and insecticide on top, mix evenly with soil, and leave it in the upper layer of the planting hole, ready for planting.

Before planting, soak the nursery pot seedlings in water until thoroughly soaked, then take them out of the pots, gently shake loose the root system, dig another small hole of about 20 cm×20 cm in the already dug planting hole, plant the seedling in, press gently and firmly, and water thoroughly. Cover with pine needles, rice straw, sawdust, etc. to preserve moisture and acidity, preferably covering 15-30 cm above the ground.

5. Fertilization management

Base fertilizer: The most suitable application time is in autumn from leaf color change to before leaf fall; early application is better than late application. Generally, decomposed sheep manure, cow manure, and rabbit manure are mainly used, applied by trenching; for trees in full fruit stage, 10-15 kg/plant, and for young trees, 5 kg/plant.

Topdressing: The topdressing period is during leaf bud sprouting and before and after flowering, mainly with quick-acting fertilizers; it is recommended to combine with drenching application of Sea Elf biological stimulant root application type; after fruit harvest, a small amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer can be applied to avoid excessive nitrogen fertilizer causing excessive growth of tender branches, promote root growth, and make branches robust.

6. Water management

During the young fruit development period, the water supply for blueberries should be sufficient and stable; avoid sudden drying and sudden wetting, otherwise it is very easy to cause red fruit and watery fruit. When drought is forecast to last more than 7 days, ensure watering thoroughly once within 5 days, and try to avoid watering during the midday period when the outside temperature is high.

Blueberries are more sensitive to waterlogging damage and must be drained in time; even half a day of waterlogging is not good for blueberries. When establishing the orchard, the planning of irrigation and drainage facilities should be combined with the local historical extreme flood weather, which is especially important in flatland blueberry planting in the south.

7. Disease and pest control

Blueberries have few diseases and pests. Common ones include powdery mildew and downy mildew; pests include aphids, mites, fruit flies, longhorn beetles, and scarab beetles.

Attention should be paid to prevention first and integrated control, protecting and utilizing various natural enemies, maintaining ecological balance in the blueberry orchard, giving priority to physical and biological control, and using chemical control when necessary, but using low-toxicity, safe, or biological-source pesticides, and paying attention to the pre-harvest interval.