• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.598-603
• /
• 2016

The aim of this study was to elucidate the influence of vigor of a bearing shoot in ‘Bluecrop’ Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) on growth characteristics of shoots and fruits. Bearing shoots were classified with BS (bearing shoot) and BMB (bearing mother branch). The vigor of bearing shoots were divided into four arbitrary categories; A was thin (< 6.0 ㎜) BMB and short (< 10 ㎝) BS, B was thin BMB and long (≥ 10 ㎝) BS, C was thick (≥ 6 ㎜) BMB and short BS and D was thick BMB and long BS. Shoots from D were longer (6.5 ㎝) and thicker (1.70 ㎜) than those from the others. Shoots of D had more leaves (5.8 ea) than those of the others. Leaf area of D was larger (13.5 ㎠) than those of the others. The first harvest of D was one week faster than the others. Ratio of big berry (>14 ㎜) from the long BSs was higher (B : 41.7, D : 46.8%) than that from the short BSs. Soluble solid content of small berrys did not show any different according to vigor of bearing shoots, but soluble solid content of big berrys of the long BSs was higher (B : 16.2, D : 15.6°Bx) than those of the short BSs. The thickness of BMB did not affect ratio of fruit size and soluble soild content. The long BSs would be proper than the short BSs for bearing bigger fruits.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.701-706
• /
• 2014

Three highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum cvs. Bluecrop, Coville, and Northland) grown in an open field and in a rain shelter were compared to evaluate the potential benefits of rain-sheltering systems on growth and fruit quality. Shrubs grown in rain shelter flowered 5-14 days earlier and were in full bloom earlier than those in the open field. All three cultivars set fruit by nearly 90% of flowers when they were grown in the open field, but was markedly reduced when they were grown in the rain shelter, to approximately 50% for 'Bluecrop' and 'Coville'. Fruit sets ratio of 'Northland' grown in the in the rain shelter was 14.5. Fruit from greenhouse-grown 'Northland' were larger, heavier, and had more seeds per berry. Soluble sugar content (SSC) of fruits varied both with the cultivars and growing conditions. SSC of fruits grown in the greenhouse was higher in 'Bluecrop' compared to that grown in the field, but this pattern was reversed in 'Northland'. Titratable acid was significantly higher in fruits from rain shelter-grown shrubs of both 'Bluecrop' and 'Northland' than in fruits from open field-grown shrubs (P < 0.05), although there was no difference in TA with respect to growing conditions for 'Coville'. The number of seed per fruit, fruit length and diameter, weight, SSC, and TA were similar in 'Coville' shrubs grown in the open field and the rain shelter. Fruit firmness of 'Bluecrop', 'Coville', and 'Northland' was higher in the rain shelter than in the open field. 'Coville' and 'Northland' fruits harvested in the open field had higher blue chroma than those harvested in the rain shelter. However, this pattern was reversed for 'Bluecrop'. On the whole, sheltering from rain affected most fruit characteristics of the three cultivars differently. Therefore, suitable blueberry cultivars for the rain shelter should be chosen by purpose.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.212-217
• /
• 2021

This experiment was conducted to compare effects of summer pruning at different times and dormant pruning on shoot growth and yield of northern highbush blueberry. Using 7 (2018) to 9 (2020) years old 'Duke' bushes grown in 180 L containers, summer pruning was treated on June 20 (around 30 days after harvest), July 20, and August 20 consecutively in both 2018 and 2019 removing 30% of the total woods, while dormant pruning (conventional) was on January 20 in both 2019 and 2020. Summer pruning reduced shoot growth the following year, especially when treated in late summer. Total shoot length per bush decreased to 47%, 37%, and 33% on October 15, 2020 in June, July, and August pruning, respectively, compared with that of dormant pruning. Summer pruning at different times in 2018 and 2019 did not affect berry characteristic in the following year. Yield per bush was not significantly changed in 2019, but it decreased by 21 to 38% in 2020 in the summer pruning treatments compared with 2.9 kg of the dormant pruning. It was concluded that consecutive summer pruning in 'Duke' under unheated plastic house could weaken the shoot growth with reducing yield.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.183-187
• /
• 2021

Appropriate pruning is very important for southern highbush blueberries cultivated in a heated plastic house to control their severe crowding within the bush canopy after harvest. Pruning treatments at different times were evaluated to find out an appropriate pruning time to southern highbush 'Scintilla' cultivation with heating. Seven-year-old (2018) bushes, grown in 180-L containers, were summer-pruned on May 20 (35-39 days after harvest) and June 20, or dormant-pruned on December 20 (5 days before flowering), consecutively in both 2018 and 2019 removing 30% of the total woods. May pruning activated occurrence of shoots the following years, increasing number of shoot by 17 to 49% and total shoot length by 18 to 32% compared with those of the dormant pruning. Fruit characteristic was not significantly affected by different pruning times the previous year. The first year pruning treatment did not influence the yield the following year, but the second year consecutive May pruning significantly increased yield per bush by 7% compared with the dormant pruning. The results indicated that summer pruning in May could be favorable to promote shoot growth and to maintain stable yield.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.858-863
• /
• 2010

The blueberry farming requires the soil condition of well-drainage, pH of 4.5 to 5.2, and high in organic matters for stable growth and development. Most of soil type of cultivated land in Korea, however, belongs to alkaline soils with low organic matter content and poor drainage. Therefore, the blueberry farmers use peat moss heavily to improve the soil condition, but the guideline on the effective and economic ratio of peat moss is not established yet. This study was performed to determine the cost effective peat moss ratio for amending soils, and to investigate the feasibility of using sawdust and coco peat as soil amendments. Peat moss, coco peat and sawdust are mixed with soil at the ratio of 0, 12.5, 50 and 100% (v/v). Among 3 organic materials with various mixture ratios, the pH of soil was the lowest in 100% peat moss and sawdust mixtures (pH 3.67 and pH 3.73, respectively), followed by pH 5.30 at 50% peat moss. The soil organic matter content are directly proportional to the mixture ratios in all three organic materials and the same trend was observed in the variation of content of exchangeable potassium in the coco peat treatments. On the contrary, the content of available phosphate, exchangeable calcium and magnesium decreased with increasing the ratio of organic materials. The nitrogen content in the leaves decreased as increasing the ratio of peat moss and coco peat in soil, but not of sawdust. The content of phosphate decreased but potassium increased as the ratio of sawdust and coco peat increased. There was no clear difference in the contents of magnesium and calcium among 3 organic materials. The plant height, stem diameter and dry weight of blueberry plants were the highest in 50 % peat moss, followed by 12.5% peat moss and 12.5% coco peat. The plants in 100% peat moss showed very poor growth. It can be concluded that peatmoss, when applied and managed appropriately, will be a good material for improving soil condition as well as securing desirable growth for blueberry. Upon coupling economic aspect, the optimum mixing ratio of peatmoss for blueberry farming is approximately 25-50%.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.167-172
• /
• 2015

The aim of this study was to develop an effective production system of blueberry plants by using tissue culture technique. Murashige and skoog medium (MS) and woody plant medium (WPM) were compared for shoot formation of highbush blueberries. Also medium supplemented with zeatin/2-isopentenyl adenine (2iP)/benzyl aminopurine (BA) (1, 2/10, 15/4, $6mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$)and zeatin/2iP/BA (0.5/10, 15/$0.05mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) as plant growth regulators to determine the effect of shoot formation and shoot proliferation, respectively. The shoot explants cultured on WPM showed higher shoot formation rates, more number of nodes, and longer root length than those on MS medium during the primary culture. Shoots were not formed when the explants were cultured on the medium without plant growth regulators or on only BA. The shoot explants cultured on the medium supplemented with 2iP showed low rates of shoot formation. On the other hand, zeatin was the most effective for shoot formation and growth of the explants. Also influence of different cytokinins (zeatin, 2iP) on the shoot proliferation of subcultured shoot explants was studied. There was no significant difference among the different concentrations of zeatin in the rate of shoot formation and number of shoots. However at higher concentration of zeatin, number of nodes was increased, and shoot length was shorted. The proper concentrations of zeatin for shoot propagation in subculture were found to be $0.5mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and $1mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.336-341
• /
• 2023

This study examines the characteristics of berries from secondary bearing shoots of 'Scintilla' southern highbush blueberry, grown hydroponically in the Jinju, Gimhae, and Uiryeong regions of Gyeongnam Province. Typically, 'Scintilla' forms flower buds at the tips of regular bearing shoots during the previous season, yielding berries in the current season. However, under heated cultivation, we observed a proliferation of secondary bearing shoots that produce berries in the same growing season. Flowering and harvesting on secondary bearing shoots were delayed by 52 and 36 days, respectively, compared to regular bearing shoots. However, these shoots exhibited a 54% increase in diameter and a 10% increase in length. We found no significant difference in berry size and soluble solid content between the two types of shoots. Notably, berries from the secondary bearing shoots had higher potassium and lower calcium and magnesium concentrations. We conclude that berries from secondary bearing shoots could be marketable, provided the bushes are healthy. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing cultural practices to improve the yield and quality of blueberries under specific environmental conditions.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.43-48
• /
• 2017

This experiment was conducted to test the suitability of various organic materials in order to reduce the use dependence of peatmoss as a soil pH regulator and to examine the effect of soil organic matter supply. A 2-year old northern-highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) 'Duke' plants were planted in the field at $2.0m{\times}2.5m$ spacing in spring. Before planting, organic materials were incorporated into the soil including the planting hole at 20 liter per plant, as the following mixtures: peatmoss only (20 L), peatmoss (10 L) + pine needle (10 L, PN), peatmoss (10 L) + rice hull (10 L, RH), and peatmoss (10 L) + sawdust (10 L, SD). The pH of organic materials was lowest in peatmoss (pH 4.3), followed by PN (pH 4.8), SD (pH 5.7) and RH (pH 7.8). Soil pH measured right after planting ranged from 5.3 to 5.9 and was lower in PM only and PM + PN than PM + RH and SD treatments. In the third year, the pH lowered to the range of 4.2 to 4.5, with PM and PM + PN still maintaining lower values. The early growth was good in the mixed treatment of PM and PN, and the plant height and width and the number of new shoots were good in the PM treatment. Soil water content was maintained highest in PM + PN, followed by PM, PM + SD and PM + RH. Vegetative growth was maintained better in PM and PM + PN, and the number of flower cluster and yield were also slightly higher in those treatments while mean fruit weight was similar among all treatments. Fruit quality indices such as total soluble solids, titratable acidity and firmness were not affected.