ORGANIC FERTILIZERS FOR LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY

Stem Pigmentation in Lowbush Blueberry.

Pollination Reservoirs in Lowbush Blueberry (Ericales: Ericaceae)

Pollinator-dependent agriculture heavily relies upon a single pollinator-the honey bee. To diversify pollination strategies, growers are turning to alternatives. Densely planted reservoirs of pollen- and nectar-rich flowers (pollination reservoirs, hereafter "PRs") may improve pollination services provided by wild bees. Our focal agroecosystem, lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton),...

Organic Fertilizers and Composts

Introduction Interest in organic production methods for vegetables continues to increase. Production practices for organic field production of vegetables have a long history, but practices to grow organic vegetable transplants in a spring greenhouse are poorly known. Organic fertilizers and composts are available but the efficacy and rates for use have not been evaluated. Experiments in the sum...

Liquid Organic Fertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture: Nutrient Uptake of Organic versus Mineral Fertilizers in Citrus Trees

The main objective of this study was to compare the performance of two liquid organic fertilizers, an animal and a plant-based fertilizer, with mineral fertilization on citrus trees. The source of the fertilizer (mineral or organic) had significant effect in the nutritional status of the organic and conventionally managed mandarins. Nutrient uptake, vegetative growth, carbohydrate synthesis and...

Mitigation of pollen limitation in the lowbush blueberry agroecosystem: effect of augmenting natural pollinators

Growers of small fruit crops often supplement the natural pollinator community by introducing pollinators into commercial orchards and fields, but there are relatively few studies that test the extent to which such interventions increase fruit yield. To test whether plants are limited by pollen availability, inflorescences in 78 commercial lowbush blueberry fields during three years were handpo...