Temperature It requires a minimum 160-day growing period without frost. It requires 2000 days of temperature for its development. Chilling time is between 650-850 hours. Cold Resistance Eyes -26.3 to -29.1 degrees, stem -26.3 to -29.1 degrees, flowers -26.3 to -29.1 degrees. Long days encourage negative plant growth, while short days in late summer and fall promote fruit bud development. Soil conditions Blueberries like acidic soils rich in organic matter. For cultivation, natural habitats or places close to them should be preferred. Blueberry is a plant with a superficial root structure with a very high amount of fringe roots. Depending on the soil type, the roots can go 1 meter deep. The main functioning roots are located in the top 25-30 cm of the soil layer. Planting, Spacing and Distances Planting can be done in the spring depending on the winter cold and possibly frost events in the region. Saplings should be planted as deep as they are in the nursery or pot. Deep planting should not be done. After planting, 60-120 cm wide and 15-20 cm thick coring should be made along the row. In countries where blueberries are cultivated, the planting distance is 120 cm on the row and 300 cm between the rows, and these intervals and distances can be increased up to 150 and 300 cm. In blueberry cultivation, the distance between blueberry rows should not be less than 250 cm. This distance is necessary for workers to work comfortably during harvesting. Since the sun is low in the Eastern Black Sea region, the distance between the rows should be at least 150 cm and the distance between the rows should be between 200 cm – 250 cm in order for the fruits to benefit from sunlight. The direction of the row spacing should be in the south-east direction. This planting method is recommended for sunlight to enter between the rows. On 1 decare of land, depending on the field structure and the formation of embankments in the field, this number can be planted between 250-300 seedlings. Fertilization In order to get the expected result from blueberry cultivation, fertilization should be done frequently but little by little. The blueberry plant is damaged by over-fertilization and may even die. In this regard, it is best to fertilize little by little at the beginning and increase the amount of fertilizer depending on the type of fertilizer used and the soil structure as you gain experience in cultivation. Blueberries are extremely sensitive to easily soluble and liquid fertilizers. Fertilizers should not be applied in such a way that they are concentrated at a certain point in the root zone of the plant. Fertilizers containing nitrogen in the form of nitrate should never be applied to blueberries. Urea, urea coated with sulphur and ammonium sulphate are suitable fertilizers. Irrigation A blueberry plant that has reached the productive age needs 2540 mm of water annually. Most of this water should be supplied by rain.
An established blueberry plant needs approximately 15.3 mm of water during March. This water needs to be supplied by irrigation or rainwater. For a good growth and continuous yield of blueberries, the soil moisture should be kept at the appropriate level during the growth period and irrigation should be done. Water is critical for the vitality of newly planted blueberry seedlings in the garden. Blueberry roots consist of superficial and mostly fringe roots. In order for the plant to develop vigorously, 25.4-82.6 mm of water per week is needed for the first 2 years following planting. In the Black Sea Region, blueberries can be cultivated without irrigation system for 1-2 years in the first garden establishment phase.
