Nutrient Assimilation in Southern Highbush Blueberry and Implications for the Field

Summary

This study investigated whether sparkleberry (Vaccinium arboreum), a wild blueberry species tolerant of high-pH and low-organic-matter soils, could serve as a rootstock to enable southern highbush blueberry cultivation on mineral soils. Greenhouse work demonstrated that sparkleberry has greater nitrate and iron uptake and assimilation capacity than southern highbush blueberry, correlating with higher activities of the rate-limiting enzymes for nitrogen and iron acquisition. Preliminary field trials indicated that grafting southern highbush blueberry onto sparkleberry rootstock improved plant growth and yield on unamended mineral soils compared with own-rooted plants.

Regional applicability

This research is directly applicable to UK horticulture, where blueberry production has expanded in recent years. The findings may be relevant to UK growers seeking to expand blueberry cultivation beyond traditionally acidic soils or to reduce dependency on soil amendments; however, UK climate and growing conditions differ from the study location, and field validation under UK conditions would be needed.

Key measures

Nitrate uptake, iron uptake, nitrate reductase activity, iron chelate reductase activity, plant growth, yield

Outcomes reported

The study compared nitrate and iron uptake and assimilation between sparkleberry rootstock and southern highbush blueberry, and examined growth and yield of grafted versus own-rooted blueberry plants grown on amended versus unamended mineral soils. Field trials assessed tolerance of blueberry to high-pH, low organic matter soils when grafted onto sparkleberry versus own-rooted.

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