Abstract
The roots of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium sp.) are sensitive to high temperatures and tend to grow poorly in warm soils or warm soilless media.Three experiments were conducted to evaluate strategies for reducing temperatures in the root zone in Évora, Portugal, where soil can reach temperatures >45°C.The first experiment was conducted in a small planting of 'Ozarkblue' blueberry.Treatments included bare soil, a 10-cm-deep layer of aged pine bark mulch, and black, green, or white geotextile landscape fabric.Bark mulch and green landscape fabric resulted in the lowest mid-day soil temperatures among the treatments, which improved canopy development and survival of the plants during establishment.White geotextile fabric also reduced soil temperature but resulted in a considerable amount of weed growth under the fabric.The second experiment was likewise conducted on 'Ozarkblue', but, in this case, the plants were grown in 40-L pots filled with a soilless mix of three parts peat, two parts pine bark, and one part humus, by volume.Treatments included black pots and black pots covered with white geotextile landscape fabric.After a year, canopy volume of the plants was greater in black pots than in white pots; however, yield was not affected by pot color.The third experiment was conducted in a 2-year-old planting of 'Legacy' blueberry.Treatments included no shade and 60% green shade netting.The netting had no effect on soil temperature in the root zone because: 1) the canopy of the plants intercepted the majority of the radiation at midday, and 2) frequent irrigation mitigated changes in soil temperature.Based on these results, bark mulch and green landscape fabric appear to be the best options for reducing temperatures in the root zone of blueberry in warm climates.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Bark mulch and green fabric produced the lowest midday soil temperatures.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosumt0 - Treatment
- Bark mulch and green landscape fabrice0
- Outcome
- mid-day soil temperaturese0
- Direction
- loweste0
- Comparator
- the treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Bark mulch and green landscape fabric resulted in the lowest mid-day soil temperatures among the treatments”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Bark mulch and green fabric improved canopy development and survival.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- Bark mulch and green landscape fabrice0
- Outcome
- canopy development and survivale0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Comparator
- the treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Bark mulch and green landscape fabric resulted in the lowest mid-day soil temperatures among the treatments, which improved canopy development and survival of the plants during establishment.”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
White geotextile fabric reduced soil temperature.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- White geotextile fabrice0
- Outcome
- soil temperaturee0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“White geotextile fabric also reduced soil temperature”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
White fabric caused considerable weed growth beneath it.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- White geotextile fabrice0
- Interactor
- weede0weed
- Outcome
- weed growthe0
- Direction
- a considerable amounte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“White geotextile fabric also reduced soil temperature but resulted in a considerable amount of weed growth under the fabric.”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Canopy volume after a year was greater in black pots than white pots.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- black potse0
- Outcome
- canopy volumee0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- white potse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“After a year, canopy volume of the plants was greater in black pots than in white pots”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Pot color did not affect yield.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- pot colore0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- not affectede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“yield was not affected by pot color.”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
Shade netting did not affect root-zone soil temperature.
- Taxon
- highbush blueberryVaccinium corymbosumt0
- Treatment
- nettinge0
- Outcome
- soil temperature in the root zonee0
- Direction
- no effecte0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The netting had no effect on soil temperature in the root zone”
t0“highbush blueberry”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors favor bark mulch and green fabric for cooling blueberry roots.
Verbatim
e0“bark mulch and green landscape fabric appear to be the best options for reducing temperatures in the root zone of blueberry in warm climates.”
The same questions in other papers
mulching · growth · Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)Positive and negative results
6 papers in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- positive
- negative
- no effect
5 papers more in this group
See all 9 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.