How to Increase Blueberry Yield? Latest Methods Shared

Blueberry is a shrub fruit, a new type of fruit introduced from abroad in recent years. Its nutritional value holds a great weight among fruits. Whether young or old, male or female, people love to eat it and it suits them very well. However, the annual yield of blueberries is currently limited, so it is far from meeting market demand, and the price is very high. So today, Qinnong Web will teach everyone how to increase blueberry yield.

1. Choose good varieties

There are quite a few blueberry varieties, including lowbush blueberry and highbush blueberry. Some are suitable for growing in cool areas, and some are suitable for growing in warm areas. There are currently as many as more than twenty blueberry varieties available, so the types are diverse. Among them, rabbiteye blueberry is the easiest to keep alive, and O'Neal is also a very good variety, especially suitable for planting in the southern region of our country. There are also some blueberries suitable for planting in the north, which I will not list one by one here. Choosing suitable varieties is the most basic method to increase blueberry yield. Second, it is recommended to plant multiple varieties when planting, so that both yield and quality will be better.

2. Sow at the right time

There is a suitable time for planting blueberries; they cannot be planted at random. The time we most commonly plant is from the end of August to September in autumn. Planting at this time gives a much higher survival rate and also suits the growth and development of blueberries. Of course, they can also be planted in spring, but it is best in early spring, so that blueberries can take root and sprout in this season and keep up with the rhythm when the flowering and fruiting season arrives.

3. Fertilizer and water management

After planting blueberries, we need to carry out reasonable fertilizer and water management according to the nature of the planting soil. The fertilizer and water management for blueberries differs to some extent at each growth stage, and management also differs for each variety. Under normal circumstances, two fertilizations are needed during the seedling stage. For taller blueberry plants, fertilizer should be applied by digging trenches, while for shorter plants, broadcasting is enough. Each time, farmyard manure or organic fertilizer is the main choice. After the blueberries bear fruit, apply one more fertilization on top of these two fertilizations, mainly foliar fertilizer, to promote fruit growth. Thereafter, foliar fertilizer needs to be sprayed about once every two to three months each year, which lets blueberry seedlings grow better and prevents premature aging and reduced yield.

4. Field management

For field management, first we need to talk about the pollination pairing for blueberry planting. Each plant must be planted according to a four-to-one pattern, which can increase the chance of pollination and thereby raise the fruit-setting rate. Second, thin the branches of the blueberry seedlings in the field, removing relatively weak branches and leaves; new branches will grow again. After a certain number of years, all old branches need to be pruned away so that new branches emerge, meaning renewal. Then, every winter the seedlings need to be protected against the cold, otherwise the blueberry seedlings will suffer frost damage. Also, during the flowering period, flower thinning is needed, and after the flowers fall, fruit thinning is needed. Both flower thinning and fruit thinning are handled on the principle of keeping the good and large ones. Finally, there is field cleanup: weeds, debris, fallen leaves, dead branches and so on need to be cleaned up and burned to ashes to avoid virus infection.

5. Artificial pollination

Artificial pollination is also a way to increase yield, but under normal circumstances it is not used. We prefer to pair pollinator trees well; when the weather is relatively stable, the pollination success rate is very high. Of course, other situations cannot be ruled out, so we need to use artificial pollination methods. One option is to use external forces, such as putting bee colonies into the orchard for bee pollination, or collecting pollen for pollination. Finally, one can also directly pick male flowers and then smear the pollen of the male flowers onto female flowers, then cover the female flowers with the male flowers for pollination. These are all methods of artificial assisted pollination, which can also be used when necessary and are very helpful for increasing blueberry yield.