Abstract
Ehret, D. L., Frey, B., Forge, T., Helmer, T., Bryla, D. R. and Zebarth, B. J. 2014. Effects of nitrogen rate and application method on early production and fruit quality in highbush blueberry. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 1165–1179. Proper nitrogen (N) fertilizer management of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) is of major importance in south-coastal British Columbia, but little information is available. A field study was conducted to examine the effects of N rate and method of application on growth, yield, and fruit quality in highbush blueberry during the first 4 yr after planting in south-coastal BC. Nitrogen was applied at 0–150% of current production guide rates either with three equal applications of broadcast granular ammonium sulphate each spring or by fertigation through the drip irrigation system with 10 equal applications of liquid ammonium sulphate injected every 2 wk from early spring to late summer each year. Yield increased with increasing N rate during the second and third years of fruit production. The yield response as well as flower number and plant size were greater with fertigation than with broadcast fertilizers. Fruit firmness also increased consistently with increased N rates, while fruit size either increased or decreased, depending on year. There were no effects of N on fruit oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), titratable acidity, or soluble solids. However, the composition of fruit anthocyanins changed, with concentrations of seven anthocyanins decreasing, and three others increasing, with N rate. In 2 of 3 yr, total anthocyanin concentration was greater in fertigated than in broadcast treatments. Soil ammonium and nitrate concentrations increased with N rate, but only soil nitrate differed between the two application methods. Soil nitrate was higher with fertigation than with granular fertilizers, particularly at the end of the season and when greater rates of N were applied. In summary, fertigation produced more shoot growth and greater yields with less N than broadcast applications of fertilizer.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
Yield increased with nitrogen rate in the second and third fruiting years.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosume0t0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Yield increased with increasing N rate during the second and third years of fruit production”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Fertigation gave a greater yield response than broadcast fertilizer.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The yield response as well as flower number and plant size were greater with fertigation than with broadcast fertilizers”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Fertigation gave greater flower number than broadcast fertilizer.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“flower number and plant size were greater with fertigation than with broadcast fertilizers”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Fertigation gave greater plant size than broadcast fertilizer.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“flower number and plant size were greater with fertigation than with broadcast fertilizers”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit firmness increased with nitrogen rate.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fruit firmness also increased consistently with increased N rates”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit size increased or decreased with nitrogen rate depending on year.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“fruit size either increased or decreased, depending on year”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrogen had no effect on fruit ORAC, acidity, or soluble solids.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“There were no effects of N on fruit oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), titratable acidity, or soluble solids”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Seven fruit anthocyanins decreased with nitrogen rate.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“concentrations of seven anthocyanins decreasing, and three others increasing, with N rate”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Three fruit anthocyanins increased with nitrogen rate.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“concentrations of seven anthocyanins decreasing, and three others increasing, with N rate”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Total anthocyanins were greater with fertigation in two of three years.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In 2 of 3 yr, total anthocyanin concentration was greater in fertigated than in broadcast treatments”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil ammonium increased with nitrogen rate.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Soil ammonium and nitrate concentrations increased with N rate”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil nitrate increased with nitrogen rate.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Soil ammonium and nitrate concentrations increased with N rate”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Only soil nitrate differed between application methods and was higher with fertigation.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“only soil nitrate differed between the two application methods. Soil nitrate was higher with fertigation than with granular fertilizers”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Fertigation produced more shoot growth than broadcast fertilizer with less nitrogen.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosume0t0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“fertigation produced more shoot growth and greater yields with less N than broadcast applications of fertilizer”
t0“highbush blueberry”
The same questions in other papers
nitrogen · yield · Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)Positive and negative results
10 papers in the same direction as this paper · 3 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
10 papers more in this group
See all 14 papers →fertilization · growth · Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)Positive and negative results
11 papers in the same direction as this paper · 4 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- negative
12 papers more in this group
See all 16 papers →fertilization · yield · Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)Positive and negative results
21 papers in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
20 papers more in this group
See all 24 papers →nitrogen · quality: postharvest · Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.