Blueberry cultivation

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Demand for super fruits such as raspberries, blackberries and strawberries, and therefore their production, will increase.

We'd like to discuss the cultivation of blueberries, which has become a popular topic in recent years. In our country, they are known by names such as Blueberry, Bilberry, and Blueberry. We believe it's more appropriate to use the term "Blueberry" in this article. Blueberry is a forest fruit from the berry family. While the plant originates from North America, it was introduced to European countries after the 1930s.

Blueberries in the Mediterranean climate

For many years, blueberries were known as cold-weather crops. Later, various varieties of blueberries were developed to suit different climates, weather conditions, and sweetness levels. With the development of varieties suitable for different climates and weather conditions in the United States, blueberries began to be cultivated in temperate regions of Europe and Mediterranean countries like Morocco. Therefore, while known primarily in the Black Sea and Bursa regions of Türkiye, blueberries are relatively unknown in the Mediterranean region.

Super healthy food

In the last few years, fruits like blueberries have become a trending superhealthy food worldwide. Numerous studies have shown that blueberries, due to their high antioxidant properties, beneficial nutrient content, and low calorie content, improve mental performance and memory. They also have multiple beneficial properties, including lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of cancer. These properties are driving the growing demand for this fruit. Thanks to the growing popularity of blueberries, they are now appearing on supermarket shelves in Turkey. Regarding blueberries, they are typically shrubby, with plant heights ranging from 10 cm to 4 meters, depending on the variety and cultivar. Smaller-fruited plants are called low-bushes, while larger-fruited plants are called high-bushes. The suitability of blueberries for specific regions is determined by their cold tolerance.

Whatever the blueberry wants…

The blueberry plant thrives in acidic soils. Therefore, it can be grown directly in soil in Bursa, Sakarya, and the Black Sea regions of Turkey. However, acidic and alkaline soils are not very common in the Mediterranean region. Therefore, cultivation is carried out in plastic pots with substrate, a form of soilless culture in the Mediterranean region. The most commonly used pots for blueberry plants are 30-50 liters in capacity. The porosity, air permeability, water retention capacity, EC, and pH values of the substrate used are adjusted to the optimum requirements of the blueberry plant. Blueberry substrate consists of a mixture of organic and inorganic minerals and some additives in varying proportions depending on the climate, variety type, and irrigation method.

Agrikal's 20 years of experience

With our 20 years of experience in areas such as seedling cultivation, plant growing media, and substrate preparation for soilless cultures, we are pleased to assist all growers who contact us regarding blueberry cultivation. To provide the best service to our customers in the region, we have established a pot filling system at our factory. We deliver the filled pots to our businesses using the racking system that is part of this system. Because the pots are prepared in our facility, the substrate substrate is hygienic. Our growers also benefit from time savings and reduced labor costs.

Raspberry, blackberry, strawberry

For our customers with long distances, due to shipping costs, we supply our blueberry substrates in high-volume, sealed big bags. To better serve our customers, we also launched our own hydroponic greenhouse in 2023, where we can conduct open-field trials and research, demonstrate blueberry cultivation in greenhouses, and showcase different varieties based on climate conditions. Blueberry growers cultivate a variety of varieties to ensure year-round harvests. In open fields, there are generally two or three varieties with harvest times from March to July. We also cultivate early varieties that can be harvested throughout the winter, from December to March. We believe that in the coming years, we will see increased demand for superfruits like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries.

AGRİKAL AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL MINERALS: Yukarıkocayatak Mah. Poyrazlı Cluster No: 25-2 / 1-2 Serik ANTALYA Tel: +90 (242) 729 74 00 e-mail: ofis@agrikal.com.tr Web: www.agrikal.com.tr www.saksimix.com.tr Instagram: agrikal_ Youtube: agrikalsubstratemineral9905