BLUEBERRY GROWING: Soil: Blueberries like organic matter rich and acidic soils. Natural habitats or places close to these should be preferred for aquaculture. Blueberry is a plant with a very large surface root structure. Depending on the soil type, its roots can go 1 meter deep. The roots, which serve as the main task, are located in the upper 25-30 cm of the soil layer. At least 6 months before planting the blueberry seedlings, the garden soil should be analyzed and sulfur should be applied 6 months in advance to adjust the pH, if necessary. If the soil pH is above 5.5, the soil acidity can be changed by applying sulfur. It is not possible to make calcareous soils suitable for blueberry cultivation with sulfur application. If the pH value of the soil to be planted is below 3.7, then liming may be recommended. The optimum pH value is between 4.0-5.2 and the optimum pH value is 4.5 for likapas in the form of tall bushes. In cases where the pH value of the soil in the blueberry orchard is high, iron and zinc deficiency occur and this event affects the newly developing organs and causes the plant to lose its vigor. Planting, Spacing and Distances Planting can be done in the spring, depending on the winter cold and possibly frost in the region. The seedlings should be planted as deep as they are in the nursery or pot. Deep planting should not be done. After planting, mating should be done with a width of 60-120 cm and a thickness of 15-20 cm along the row. In countries where blueberry cultivation is carried out, the planting distance is 100 – 150 cm on the row and 2000 – 2500 cm between the rows, and this spacing and distances can be increased up to 200 – 300 cm. The distance between the rows of likapa should not be less than 200 cm in blueberry cultivation. This distance is necessary for the workers to work comfortably during the harvest. Due to the scarcity of arable land in our Black Sea region, it is recommended that likapa seedlings be planted on rows between 125 cm and 150 cm with 200 cm spacing. It varies between a maximum of 350 pieces. Fertilization In order to get the expected result from blueberry cultivation, fertilizing should be done frequently but little by little. The blueberry plant is damaged by over-fertilization or may even die. In this regard, the ideal is to give fertilizer little by little at the beginning and to increase the amount of fertilizer depending on the type of fertilizer used and the soil structure as long as you have experience in farming. Blueberries are extremely sensitive to easily soluble and liquid fertilizers. Fertilizers should not be given in such a way as to concentrate on a certain point in the root zone of the plant. Fertilizers containing nitrogen in the form of nitrates should never be given to Blueberries. Urea, sulfur-coated urea and ammonium sulfate are suitable fertilizers.
