Abstract
Fruit set in northern highbush blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum L.) can be low under certain climatic conditions, contributing to reduced yields in northwestern Washington. The mechanisms influencing fruit set are complex, but reduced fruit set may be associated with inadequate nutrient availability during critical stages of flowering, ovule fertilization, and initial fruit development. Calcium (Ca) and boron (B) are of particular interest for reproductive developmental processes and are frequently applied annually by growers in the Pacific Northwest region because of the perception that these nutrients enhance fruit set and corresponding yields. Evaluation of commonly applied products containing these nutrients and their effects on fruit set and yield are of specific importance to justify the application of these nutrients. To address this, commercially available fertilizers containing Ca and B were applied to ‘Draper’ and ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry as foliar sprays, either alone or in combination, during the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons in northwestern Washington. Treatments included calcium chloride (750 and 1500 ppm Ca), calcium sulfate (150 ppm Ca), and tetra borate (125 and 250 ppm B) foliar sprays, repeated six times per season every 7–10 days from early pink bud through petal fall. No significant increases were observed for fruit set, estimated yield, and fruit quality (firmness and berry weight) across the treatments. Increased concentrations of B were observed in leaf tissues in 2015 and 2016, and to a lesser extent fruit tissues. Calcium remained unchanged regardless of treatment and tissue type. Under the conditions of this study, foliar applications of Ca and B did not lead to increased fruit set or yield. This research suggests that other approaches should be explored to increase fruit set and corresponding yields of highbush blueberry grown in northwest Washington.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar calcium and boron treatments did not significantly increase fruit set.
- Taxon
- blueberrye1
- Treatment
- fertilizers containing Ca and Be1
- Outcome
- fruit sete0
- Direction
- No significant increasese0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“No significant increases were observed for fruit set, estimated yield, and fruit quality (firmness and berry weight) across the treatments.”
e1“fertilizers containing Ca and B were applied to ‘Draper’ and ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry as foliar sprays”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar calcium and boron treatments did not significantly increase estimated yield.
- Taxon
- blueberrye1
- Treatment
- fertilizers containing Ca and Be1
- Outcome
- estimated yielde0
- Direction
- No significant increasese0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“No significant increases were observed for fruit set, estimated yield, and fruit quality (firmness and berry weight) across the treatments.”
e1“fertilizers containing Ca and B were applied to ‘Draper’ and ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry as foliar sprays”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar calcium and boron treatments did not significantly increase fruit firmness.
- Taxon
- blueberrye1
- Treatment
- fertilizers containing Ca and Be1
- Outcome
- firmnesse0
- Direction
- No significant increasese0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“No significant increases were observed for fruit set, estimated yield, and fruit quality (firmness and berry weight) across the treatments.”
e1“fertilizers containing Ca and B were applied to ‘Draper’ and ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry as foliar sprays”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar calcium and boron treatments did not significantly increase berry weight.
- Taxon
- blueberrye1
- Treatment
- fertilizers containing Ca and Be1
- Outcome
- berry weighte0
- Direction
- No significant increasese0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“No significant increases were observed for fruit set, estimated yield, and fruit quality (firmness and berry weight) across the treatments.”
e1“fertilizers containing Ca and B were applied to ‘Draper’ and ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry as foliar sprays”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar treatments increased leaf boron concentrations in both years.
- Taxon
- blueberrye1
- Organ / stage
- leaf tissuese0
- Treatment
- fertilizers containing Ca and Be1
- Outcome
- concentrations of Be0
- Direction
- Increasede0
- Qualifier
- 2015 and 2016e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Increased concentrations of B were observed in leaf tissues in 2015 and 2016, and to a lesser extent fruit tissues.”
e1“fertilizers containing Ca and B were applied to ‘Draper’ and ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry as foliar sprays”
Claim · model-written summary
Foliar treatments increased fruit boron concentrations to a lesser extent.
- Taxon
- blueberrye1
- Organ / stage
- fruit tissuese0
- Treatment
- fertilizers containing Ca and Be1
- Outcome
- concentrations of Be0
- Direction
- Increasede0
- Qualifier
- to a lesser extente0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Increased concentrations of B were observed in leaf tissues in 2015 and 2016, and to a lesser extent fruit tissues.”
e1“fertilizers containing Ca and B were applied to ‘Draper’ and ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry as foliar sprays”
Claim · model-written summary
Calcium concentrations remained unchanged across treatments and tissue types.
- Taxon
- blueberrye1
- Treatment
- fertilizers containing Ca and Be1
- Outcome
- Calciume0
- Direction
- remained unchangede0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Calcium remained unchanged regardless of treatment and tissue type.”
e1“fertilizers containing Ca and B were applied to ‘Draper’ and ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry as foliar sprays”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend exploring other ways to improve highbush blueberry fruit set and yields.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosume0 - Outcome
- other approaches should be explored to increase fruit set and corresponding yieldse0
- Setting
- northwest Washingtone0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“other approaches should be explored to increase fruit set and corresponding yields of highbush blueberry grown in northwest Washington.”
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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.