Nutrient solution concentration and its relationship with blueberry production and quality

• Main Authors: Carlos Enrique Frías-Ortega, Gelacio Alejo-Santiago, Rubén Bugarín-Montoya, Circe Aidín Aburto-González, Cecilia Rocío Juárez-Rosete, Elizabeth Urbina-Sánchez, Esperanza Sánchez-Hernández
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (Corpoica) 2020-07-01
• Series: Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria
• Subjects: hydroponics; plant nutrition; soil salinity; sustainable agriculture; vaccinium corymbosum
• Online Access: http://revistacta.agrosavia.co/index.php/revista/article/view/1296/695

The production and quality of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) cv. Biloxi of low cold requirement and the foliar nutritional concentration in hydroponic culture were evaluated using different concentrations of nutritive solution. The experiment was carried out in a semi tunnel type greenhouse with plastic cover, a passive ventilation system with zenithal and lateral openings, and without climate control. One-year-old blueberry plants from in vitro culture were used and placed in flexible plastic containers of 15 L capacity with red volcanic basalt rock as a substrate with a planting frame of 2 m between rows and 0.5 m between plants. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments and five repetitions, and each repetition had four plants with a total of eighty plants. Four concentrations of modified Steiner solution (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 dS/m) were evaluated. The assessed variables were production per plant and fruit quality, considering size, pH, total soluble solids and firmness, as well as the foliar concentration of macronutrients in each phenological stage. We concluded that blueberry cv. Biloxi is sensitive to the salinity of the growth medium. When the electrical conductivity (EC) value is higher than 1.0 dS/m, blueberry growth, production, and quality are affected. In hydroponic systems, a nutrient solution with EC between 0.5 and 1.0 dS/m can be used without affecting yield and fruit quality, or foliar nutritional concentration levels in hydroponic culture.