Latest Overview of Blueberry Producing Areas: A Complete Guide to China's Main Regions
The blueberry is a blue berry, a perennial small-fruit shrub in the genus Vaccinium of the heath family (Ericaceae), native to North America; because the fruit is blue, it is called the blueberry. The fruit is rich in nutrients and has effects such as preventing aging of the cranial nerves, protecting eyesight, strengthening the heart, fighting cancer, softening blood vessels, and enhancing the body's immunity. Now let us take a look at the distribution of blueberry producing areas!
Distribution of Blueberry Producing Areas
Blueberries are distributed throughout the world, mainly in areas with a cool climate and abundant sunshine, such as Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, Europe, North America, and the Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Jilin Changbai Mountain regions of mainland China. They grow at altitudes of 900 m to 2,300 m and are mostly found in coniferous forests, peat bogs, mountain tundra, and pastures; they are also an important component of heath shrubland.
In China, blueberry producing areas are mainly in Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin and other regions. In the Changbai Mountain and the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains of Northeast China, many wild varieties and resources of blueberry-type plants such as wild bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum, commonly known as dusi or dushi) and bilberry (Vaccinium) grow naturally.
Environment of Blueberry Producing Areas
Cultivated blueberries fall into three major categories, namely highbush blueberry, lowbush blueberry, and rabbiteye blueberry. Highbush blueberry is further divided into three types: northern highbush blueberry, southern highbush blueberry, and half-high blueberry. Lowbush blueberry and half-high blueberry are suitable for planting in cold temperate regions, northern highbush blueberry and some half-high blueberries are suitable for planting in warm temperate regions, and rabbiteye blueberry and southern highbush blueberry are suitable for planting in subtropical regions.
Blueberry cultivation in China started relatively late and mainly consists of northern highbush, half-high, lowbush, and rabbiteye blueberries. The regions are scattered, and as of the spring of 2009 the planting area was about 20,000 mu, mainly distributed in Shandong, Jilin, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places, among which Shandong has the largest commercial planting area.
Development History of Blueberries
1. Development history: Blueberry cultivation in China started relatively late and mainly consists of northern highbush, half-high, lowbush, and rabbiteye blueberries. The regions are scattered, and as of the spring of 2009 the planting area was about 20,000 mu, mainly distributed in Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Jiangsu and other places. Among them, Liaoning has the largest commercial planting area.
2. Oceania: Blueberries were first introduced in 1950 without success; by 1970 seeds were introduced and varieties were screened; by the late 1970s seedlings were introduced and cultivation began; by 1990 the area reached 1,700 hectares, mainly concentrated in the eastern coastal regions, chiefly highbush blueberry and rabbiteye blueberry. Among highbush blueberries, the main cultivar is “Bluecrop”, followed by “Spartan” and “Sharpblue”. On the basis of introduced varieties, Australia achieved great results in crossbreeding and selected excellent varieties adapted to its own climate, which gradually replaced the introduced varieties. In production, it uses its geographical position in the Southern Hemisphere to produce fruit, supplying fresh fruit during the Northern Hemisphere's winter and exporting fresh fruit to North America and Europe.