Abstract
In long-lived organic blueberry production systems, nutrient imbalances caused by some fertilization and mulching practices can reduce plant growth and yield. The ability to balance nutrient levels and thus improve productivity over time was evaluated in a mature planting of ‘Duke’ and ‘Liberty’ that had been used to study different mulching practices [sawdust (9-cm deep), yard-debris compost (4-cm) topped with sawdust (5-cm), and weed mat] and various rates and sources of N fertilizer (feather meal or fish solubles, each applied initially at “low” or “high” rates of 29 and 57 kg·ha −1 N in 2007–08 and then increased incrementally as the planting matured to 73 and 140 kg·ha −1 N in 2013–16). In Winter 2016–17, existing weed mat was removed and replaced where it was present, and new weed mat was installed on top of any existing organic mulches, thus changing the mulch treatments to weed mat (over bare soil), weed mat over sawdust, and weed mat over compost + sawdust from 2017 to 2020. A hydrolyzed soy-protein–based fertilizer containing essentially only N was applied at a moderate rate (106 kg·ha −1 N) relative to prior treatments. Plants grown on flat and raised beds were evaluated separately. From 2016 to 2020, yield of ‘Duke’ and ‘Liberty’ increased by an average of 19% and 56%, respectively, on flat beds and 8% and 42%, respectively, on raised beds. On flat or raised beds, plants that had weed mat placed over the existing sawdust or compost + sawdust mulch had a greater increase in yield (averaging 41%) than those with weed mat alone (over bare soil; averaging 12%). Soil under weed mat alone continued to have the lowest organic matter content (averaging 3%) throughout the study. Prior fertilization source and rate had no impact on the increase in yield of ‘Duke’, whereas ‘Liberty’ plants previously fertilized with feather meal had a larger increase in yield through 2020 than those fertilized with fish solubles. Fertilizing with an intermediate rate of N from 2017 to 2020 increased yield regardless of whether plants received the low or high N rate from 2007 to 2016, confirming our previous conclusion that the low rate provided sufficient N. Soil K and leaf %K declined after discontinuing fertilization with fish solubles and use of yard-debris compost, likely a factor in yield improvement. However, there were still negative correlations between yield and leaf %K in multiple years. This study illustrated that changing mulch and fertility practices in established organic blueberry to mitigate prior applications of high K can improve plant performance, nutrient imbalances, and yield within a relatively short period of time.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by-nc-nd. 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 12
Claim · model-written summary
Duke yield on flat beds increased by an average of 19% from 2016 to 2020.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush Blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosumt0 - Material
- Dukee1
- Outcome
- yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 19%e1
- Setting
- flat bedse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“From 2016 to 2020, yield of ‘Duke’ and ‘Liberty’ increased by an average of 19% and 56%, respectively, on flat beds and 8% and 42%, respectively, on raised beds”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Liberty yield on flat beds increased by an average of 56% from 2016 to 2020.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Material
- Libertye1
- Outcome
- yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 56%e1
- Setting
- flat bedse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“From 2016 to 2020, yield of ‘Duke’ and ‘Liberty’ increased by an average of 19% and 56%, respectively, on flat beds and 8% and 42%, respectively, on raised beds”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Duke yield on raised beds increased by an average of 8% from 2016 to 2020.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Material
- Dukee1
- Outcome
- yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 8%e1
- Setting
- raised bedse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“From 2016 to 2020, yield of ‘Duke’ and ‘Liberty’ increased by an average of 19% and 56%, respectively, on flat beds and 8% and 42%, respectively, on raised beds”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Liberty yield on raised beds increased by an average of 42% from 2016 to 2020.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Material
- Libertye1
- Outcome
- yielde1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 42%e1
- Setting
- raised bedse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“From 2016 to 2020, yield of ‘Duke’ and ‘Liberty’ increased by an average of 19% and 56%, respectively, on flat beds and 8% and 42%, respectively, on raised beds”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Weed mat placed over existing sawdust or compost-plus-sawdust mulch gave a greater yield increase (averaging 41%) than weed mat alone.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- weed mat placed over the existing sawdust or compost + sawdust mulche2
- Outcome
- increase in yielde2
- Direction
- greatere2
- Value
- 41%e2
- Comparator
- weed mat alonee2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“On flat or raised beds, plants that had weed mat placed over the existing sawdust or compost + sawdust mulch had a greater increase in yield (averaging 41%) than those with weed mat alone (over bare soil; averaging 12%)”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil under weed mat alone had the lowest organic matter content (averaging 3%).
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- weed mat alonee3
- Outcome
- organic matter contente3
- Direction
- loweste3
- Value
- 3%e3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“Soil under weed mat alone continued to have the lowest organic matter content (averaging 3%) throughout the study”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Prior fertilization source and rate had no impact on the yield increase of Duke.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Material
- Dukee4
- Treatment
- Prior fertilization source and ratee4
- Outcome
- increase in yielde4
- Direction
- no impacte4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Prior fertilization source and rate had no impact on the increase in yield of ‘Duke’”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Liberty previously fertilized with feather meal had a larger yield increase through 2020 than Liberty fertilized with fish solubles.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Material
- Libertye5
- Treatment
- fertilized with feather meale5
- Outcome
- increase in yielde5
- Direction
- largere5
- Comparator
- fertilized with fish solublese5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“‘Liberty’ plants previously fertilized with feather meal had a larger increase in yield through 2020 than those fertilized with fish solubles”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Fertilizing with an intermediate N rate from 2017 to 2020 increased yield regardless of the low or high N rate used from 2007 to 2016.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- Fertilizing with an intermediate rate of Ne6
- Outcome
- yielde6
- Direction
- increasede6
- Comparator
- the low or high N ratee6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e6“Fertilizing with an intermediate rate of N from 2017 to 2020 increased yield regardless of whether plants received the low or high N rate from 2007 to 2016”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil K and leaf %K declined after discontinuing fish-solubles fertilization and yard-debris compost use, likely a factor in yield improvement.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- discontinuing fertilization with fish solubles and use of yard-debris composte7
- Outcome
- Soil K and leaf %Ke7
- Direction
- declinede7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e7“Soil K and leaf %K declined after discontinuing fertilization with fish solubles and use of yard-debris compost, likely a factor in yield improvement”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Leaf %K and yield were negatively correlated in multiple years.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Compound
- leaf %Ke1
- Outcome
- yielde1
- Direction
- decreaseinferrede1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“there were still negative correlations between yield and leaf %K in multiple years”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Changing mulch and fertility practices in established organic blueberry can improve plant performance, nutrient imbalances, and yield within a short period.
- Taxon
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- changing mulch and fertility practicese1
- Outcome
- plant performance, nutrient imbalances, and yielde1
- Direction
- improvee1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“changing mulch and fertility practices in established organic blueberry to mitigate prior applications of high K can improve plant performance, nutrient imbalances, and yield within a relatively short period of time”
t0“Northern Highbush Blueberry”
The same questions in other papers
mulching · yield · Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)Results differ
7 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- positive
- positive
5 papers more in this group
See all 9 papers →growing medium · yield · Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)Positive and negative results
8 papers in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- no effect
7 papers more in this group
See all 11 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
- negative
20 papers more in this group
See all 24 papers →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.