Can you grow blueberries at home?

Blueberries belong to the Heather family and are a distant relative of blueberries. Eating its berries in food is very beneficial for the body. The fruits of this plant are valued, for example, for the fact that they slow down the aging process, improve the activity of the nervous system, and contribute to the normalization of digestion processes. Of course, many gardeners would like to see this culture on their site. Therefore, further in the article, we will figure out in detail how to grow blueberries in the country.

What are the varieties

They started breeding this useful plant in 1908. To date, a huge number of blueberry varieties have been bred, which can be classified into several large groups:

• undersized;
• northern high;
• rabbit eye;
• southern high;
• semi-tall.

All these varieties are quite whimsical to care for and require careful adherence to planting technology. A summer resident who wondered how to grow blueberries on a site should know that northern tall varieties are best suited for central Russia. They are valued primarily for their fairly good yield and resistance to low temperatures.

The best northern tall varieties

Most often, blueberries can be seen in the gardens of the Moscow region and other regions of central Russia:

• Bluecrop. This medium-fruiting variety attracts gardeners primarily with its drought resistance, frost resistance and productivity. In addition, it is immune to disease. It is the blueberry variety Bluecrop that is the reference when creating any other.
• Elizabeth. The berries of this variety ripen rather late, but they differ in their simply wonderful taste. It is Elizabeth's blueberries that are usually recommended to summer residents for growing on their plots as a dessert.
• Patriot. This variety is good primarily for its high yield. Blueberry Patriot is tall and can produce up to 9 kg of fruit in one year.

Such varieties of this culture as Taiga Beauty, Canadian Nectar and Divnaya are excellent for the Urals and Siberia. All of these varieties are characterized by increased resistance to cold weather. The blueberry variety Blurey is also suitable for the northern regions of Russia.

How to choose a seat

In the wild, blueberries are known to grow in swampy and rather shady areas. However, the garden varieties of this plant do not like the close occurrence of groundwater and the lack of light. The blueberry area should be fairly dry. Groundwater in the place of cultivation of this crop should not approach the surface closer than 0.5 meters. This applies to most varieties.In a waterlogged area, blueberries Patriot, Blyukrop, Divnaya and others will feel unwell and may even die.

In the absence of sufficient lighting, blueberries stop fruiting. Therefore, it should be planted away from garden trees, solid fences and even berry bushes.

Where to get seedlings

A young blueberry bush for summer cottages can be purchased in a nursery or grown independently from seeds or cuttings. However, most often the seedlings of this cultivated plant are still purchased from farmers. The fact is that it is rather difficult to get blueberry bushes from seeds or cuttings on your own.

How to grow blueberries: planting dates

You can transfer the seedlings of this culture to a permanent place both in autumn and spring. The latter option is considered more preferable. The fact is that the root system of this plant develops rather slowly. This means that by winter, blueberries may simply not gain sufficient strength. As a result, the plant is likely to freeze by spring.

What should be the soil

Blueberries are one of the few garden plants that prefer acidic soil (pH 3.5 to 5). This culture does not take root on ordinary loam. The best solution would be to prepare a mixture of the following composition for this plant:

• 1 part of high-moor peat;
• 1 part of coniferous leaf litter;
• some chopped pine bark.

What is worth knowing

When wondering how to grow blueberries in the country, one important advice from experienced gardeners should be taken into account. No organic fertilizers should be used when planting blueberries. The same goes for ash. If this rule is neglected, the seedlings may simply not take root. It is completely useless to use organics on acidic soils. In addition, it, like ash, leaches the soil.

Preparatory activities

They plant blueberries on the site in pre-dug trenches or pits. So that later the garden alkaline earth does not mix with the acidic substrate prepared especially for this plant, the walls of the latter are often lined with moisture-permeable geotextiles. Of course, in this case, the pits and trenches must be of sufficient width. Sometimes blueberries are even planted in large tubs. The distance between the pits should not be less than 1.5 m.

The blueberry bush itself should be soaked in water for about 10 minutes before planting. Can be used for soaking and a solution of an agent that stimulates root formation.

Garden blueberries: planting on the site

After the pits for this culture are ready, the prepared soil mixture should be poured onto their bottom with a layer of about 20 cm.All the soil should be removed from the roots of the seedling. You can simply rinse it off with a stream of warm water. It is impossible to plant blueberries together with an earthen clod, since this plant cannot spread the roots on its own.

You need to install the seedling in the hole straight and exactly in the middle. Garden blueberries, which must be planted quickly, are better suited if their roots are neatly straightened out. It is necessary to fill up the bush carefully, trying not to damage anything. After planting, the root collar should remain on the surface.

The trunk circle of the plant should be immediately mulched with peat or coniferous leaf litter. Water the planted blueberries with water diluted in it with citric acid in the amount of 2 h / l per bucket at the rate of 5-7 liters per bush.

Plant care: basic activities

The blueberries planted on the site will subsequently have to:

• watering;
• weed;
• fertilize.

Also, the owners of the dacha will need to constantly monitor the level of soil acidity. In order to prevent a decrease in fruiting or even death of plants due to alkalization, you should definitely purchase a kit for checking the level of acidity of the soil in a specialized store.

How to water plants

Overdrying, as well as overmoistening strongly, blueberries should not be.In the first year after planting, this plant is usually watered once every two to three days (5-7 liters per bush). If the moistening procedure is carried out less often, the peat soil will turn into stone very quickly, and the plant will not be able to put new roots into it.

In subsequent years, blueberries can be watered once or twice a week. In this case, you should use slightly acidified (for example, vinegar 9%) settled warm water. Watering should be done from a hose with a spray. Otherwise, the soil under the plants may become overconsolidated. After each watering, the blueberry tree trunk should be loosened.

How to feed

Choose the right fertilizer for blueberries. They begin to feed her from the second year after planting. You need to apply fertilizer to the soil twice a season. Crops grown on acidic peat soils are usually deficient in macronutrients such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sulfur and magnesium. To compensate for the deficiency of these substances, it is worth using complex fertilizers. This can be, for example, "Kemira universal", compositions intended for conifers, double superphosphate, etc.

Ashes for feeding plants during cultivation, as well as during planting, cannot be used categorically. Such fertilizer for blueberries as organic is never used.

How to determine which macronutrients are lacking in plants

The choice of fertilizer for blueberries should be based on what nutrients are lacking in the soil. The lack of certain macronutrients strongly affects, first of all, the appearance of plants. So, if blueberry leaves began to turn yellow and the formation of new shoots slowed down, it means that it does not have enough nitrogen. Necrotic spots indicate a lack of potassium. Plants with reddened leaf blades should be fed with a product containing a larger amount of magnesium, and with blue ones - boron.

Grow sweet blueberries on the balcony too. The picture shows the Burlington variety.

The basis is at least two bushes of different varieties for cross-pollination. If you can take care of your houseplants, you can do the rest. Better to start in spring and summer, you can already harvest the first crop.

If you have a place on a sunny or semi-sunny balcony, terrace or loggia, then plant a bush in at least two large pots. Pleasantly revitalize your home with greenery, flowers, and with proper care and attention, you will also harvest the fruits.

Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries can be grown in pots.

Buy only cultured blueberries. Choose blueberry varieties with very sweet and large fruits. In a garden where there is a lot of space, these bushes grow up to a height of two meters. The pot will, of course, be smaller.

If you have a summer cottage, you can put a pot of blueberries in a flower bed, for example, next to lavender, for better pollination.

When choosing between different varieties, do not choose too long, it is not so important. The most important thing is that it is a cultivated variety, which should be marked on the tag. Often these varieties produce a crop in the first year of planting.

It is a large-fruited variety of Canadian blueberries.

In order for blueberries to take root well, it is recommended to combine at least two varieties in a pot. Try Patriot or Sweet or Duke or Blue Crop, for example. If you want large fruits, the Torro variety is recommended.

How not to get discouraged when growing blueberries

When selecting blueberry seedlings, never choose those that are grown from seeds, they could wait for the fruits for several years, or even without a guarantee that they would have waited at all.

Choose plants grown from cuttings of cultivars, ideally potted and already in bloom. Because of pollination, grow at least two shrubs of different varieties close to each other.

Breeders are breeding more and more new varieties. For a general overview: early varieties - Goldtraube Record, Rancocas or Earliblue, medium early varieties Bluecrop, Blueray, Berkeley, Pemberton, Spartan or Zuckertraube.Herbert, Jersey, Darrow - late varieties, bear fruit already at the end of the season.

Add peat to high-quality soil in the pot and do not forget to water the blueberries abundantly, especially during flowering and ripening of fruits, because peat dries quickly.

For growing, buy a large pot, ideally at least about the size of a bucket, good soil and peat or partially decayed forest foliage. It is advisable to add an acid component to good garden soil, that is, peat or partially rotted fallen leaves, needles and small twigs. As for fertilizing, blueberries do not tolerate lime and chlorine, so fertilizers with these components should be avoided.

And if you consider that you eat fruits, try to forget about chemistry and find some useful natural fertilizers. Definitely worth it.

One thing to keep in mind is sufficient watering because the peat dries out quickly. If you put the pots in direct sunlight, this is doubly important. And so that you don't "drown" the plants, you can add a little drainage in the form of small stones to the bottom of the pot.

In the first years, the bushes do not need to be cut, you can start doing this after two or three years, at intervals of about three years. Prune the oldest branches completely near the ground and this will help the growth of the young. If you take good care of blueberries, you can grow one plant for decades and the sweet fruit will be an annual reward.

If you have a garden, blueberry pots can be placed there.

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Blueberries and blueberries are native sister berries.

But blueberries are everyone's favorite berry, and blueberries have only heard insults in their address: a gonobel, a drunkard, a fool. Why are we doing it like that?

Only because it grows next to wild rosemary, which in the heat emits such intoxicating essential oils that they make you dizzy. But more recently, the situation has changed radically. Summer residents literally chase tall garden blueberries. And she will also make you wave a shovel

I saw new varieties of garden blueberries and was surprised: why not blueberries, because they are sweeter and juicier? I was not lazy, I found information: her habit of growing let down blueberries, while it does not form dense bushes that gardeners value so much. Blueberries have no such disadvantages. That is why breeders have made their choice in her favor.

Reference by topic: Growing blueberries in the garden

Growing blueberries is a lumpy first pancake

My first attempt at befriending garden blueberries was unsuccessful. I bought five bushes at once, planted it like a hedge in a trench, the distance between the bushes is 1 m, the depth of the trench is also 1 m.

As a newcomer, I put all the best in the planting holes: manure, compost and, pleased with myself, the next year (and not without reason) began to wait for the harvest. And he was! Many, many oily leaves and not a single berry! I admit, there was a desire to rip out and throw away the blueberries, but I restrained myself, was smart enough to look for information about this plant.

Blueberry sour lover

All blueberries want is sour soil!

Well, I had to wave a shovel in the fall, I did a titanic work: I dug up the entire 5-meter trench, carefully dug up the plants, set them aside, took out all the fertile soil from the trench and filled it with new soil - sour peat (acidity 3.5-4.5) , on the bottom put bark, rot, branches, needles, sawdust (preferably conifers), in general, everything that I found in the forest.

Only then did I re-plant the blueberries in the peat. And never again any manure, superphosphate and potassium! The root system of blueberries is at a depth of 30 cm, it should be sour, a lot of air and moisture.

But that's not all! So that this acidic soil does not wash out and the roots of the plant do not come into contact with soil of a different acidity, neutral or, God forbid, alkaline, I laid the entire trench from the inside and the bottom with a film.

I made several drainage holes in the film laid on the bottom. In general, planting currants and blueberries are two big differences. Both physical and material labor costs were high.

See also: How to determine the acidity of the soil

Harvest blueberries without interruption

But there is one plus - blueberries are a very durable culture, one might say, once suffered and forgot. I have seen blueberry bushes that grew in one place for up to thirty years.

It is enough to occasionally sprinkle coniferous sawdust under the bushes - this will be a long-lasting fertilizer.

Another plus: long-term fruiting, I have several different varieties of blueberries, which take turns bearing fruit from the beginning of June to the end of October, I usually do 5-6 harvests.

I have tall blueberries growing in an open place, here is an analogue that since the berry came from the forest, even if it grows in the shade, it will not work. In the shade, instead of berries, again, you get oily leaves - this is checked.

There is another interesting feature - blueberries can be planted where there is water in the spring, this does not mean that it needs to be identified in a swamp, it agrees to endure if the flood water costs about a week. If there is an excess of moisture, then the roots will not have enough oxygen and the plant will die.

The question that interests everyone: how to propagate blueberries? I, as an amateur, propagate by layering. In the fall, I bend the lower branch, fix it and sprinkle it with earth. At the end of summer, the plant has already taken root. Well, in mass quantities, it can be propagated by green cuttings.

Reference by topic: Planting blueberries - how is it right?

American plant, domestic pests

My main pests are birds, if I didn't have time to cover it with a net, then absolutely everything will be eaten. As for serious diseases, first of all it is chlorosis. This disease is, again, soil related.

If it becomes neutral in acidity, then the plant reacts immediately. The first sign is that the leaves turn pale green, lose color saturation.

This is due to the fact that the plant does not assimilate nitrogen. Then the disease progresses: the leaves turn brown at the edges, as if charred. What to do? Take up the shovel again! Dig up the blueberries, remove the soil and cover the peat. Then the bush will immediately come to life.

Blueberry is a self-pollinating plant.

But if there are several shrubs, then the yield increases almost twice. Fruiting already in the 3-4th year. Spring planting is preferable, the risk of freezing is less.

Another nuance - you cannot leave black soil under the blueberries, it heats up, and the plant does not like overheating. Therefore, I fill the soil around the bushes with sawdust so that the bare earth does not stick out, but there is an even more interesting option: plant cranberries with a small border along the entire trench.

They have exactly the same soil requirements, and both are long-livers.

For those who want to start this wonderful shrub, I want to give advice: do not be careless about the acidity of the soil. I have friends who decided: yes, we have Christmas trees and horse sorrel growing on our site, which means that the earth is sour!

They planted blueberries, they suffered for four years, and then turned yellow and died. Those gardeners were very offended by her.

But acidic soil is not enough to say, blueberries will be just right for gray peat (this is moss that has rotted over the years), and I would advise you to even check the acidity with a special device before planting, so that later you would not feel sorry for your work!

Growing blueberries - questions and answers

Smart planting of blueberries

- Seedlings with a closed root system can be planted throughout the growing season - from early spring, when the ground has just thawed and its temperature has become higher than +6 degrees, and until late autumn until frost.The plant begins to bear fruit in a year or two.

From the greenhouses, the rooted seedlings are taken out to the field in the so-called "incubator" for the second year. They are suitable for planting in open ground, and more mature bushes can be planted.

With an open root system, blueberries are planted in early spring and autumn (October). О What is important to consider when boarding?

- Blueberry roots are shallow, so you don't need to dig too deep a hole, but a shallow hole is indispensable here. The pit should be about 60-80 cm deep. On heavy soil, it can be made shallower, but wider. Blueberries should not be planted in the lowlands.

The dug soil must be mixed with high-moor peat (1: 1). It is poor in nutrients, but retains water well, unlike low-lying one, and creates the conditions necessary for the chemical composition of the blueberry roots. 1) Some gardeners advise putting in the planting hole the remains of rotten, whitish-looking stumps, the so-called "cubic rot". Is it correct?

- Good advice if the stumps are pine. They also retain moisture in the soil, and, increasing acidity in the root zone, thereby help the roots of the plant to absorb nutrients. '

Is it worth covering the bottom of the planting pit with a film on a sandy area?

- Everyone decides for himself, but the film must be perforated (have holes), otherwise it will turn into a "trough" filled with water when it is watered or rained. If there is sand on top and clay on the bottom, you don't need to cover the bottom with a film.

On clay soil, blueberries should be planted on raised ridges - ridges. On a flat area, in heavy rains, the clay is saturated with water, and the roots will rot from lack of air.

For the winter

If a seedling was purchased at the end of autumn, for example, in November, when it is too late to plant, where and how can it be overexposed before planting?

- It's hard to adhere to calendar dates, you need to look at how frozen the earth is. It is undesirable to store the seedling in the basement, and even more so in the house. It can be dug in obliquely in the greenhouse along with the container and covered

burlap or even an old coat. Or put it in a place protected from the north wind in the garden, cover it with sawdust and cover it too. So the seedling will overwinter safely. Do first years need shelter?

- Our first-year children grow up in a greenhouse, and they winter there.

In the garden, a rooted stalk overwinters well in a small stalk, which needs to be insulated with sawdust and dry leaves.

The intricacies of blueberry care

When are blueberries cut?

- Winter woody cuttings are cut in late April - early May. Green cuttings are carried out in early July and almost until the end of the month.

Do bushes need to be fed in the first year after planting?

- No, the plant must develop a root system. In subsequent years, nitrogen or complex fertilizers with a predominance of nitrogen are given in the spring. Organic blueberries cannot be used. In addition, every spring you need to add sawdust mulch with a layer of about 10 cm.

How durable is a blueberry bush? Can it be rejuvenated or replaced with a new one?

- In Poland, I saw bushes planted at the beginning of the last century! And they live and bear fruit safely. Only by a huge shaft of mulch (1 m and more) can one understand that these are long-livers. Prune blueberries in early spring. In young plants, only small growth and diseased shoots are removed. And starting from the age of 6-7, old shoots are gradually cut out.

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In recent years, in our country and in the neighboring countries, blueberries are rapidly gaining popularity - a shrub common in Europe with a high content of vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals.

A berry with extremely useful properties is necessary for every healthy person. Not knowing how to grow blueberries, many gardeners and summer residents refuse this shrub. In care, the shrub is unpretentious and does not require much effort, however, the cultivation of blueberries requires compliance with some nuances.

Blueberry variety selection

It is important to choose the right variety before planting blueberries on the site. For areas with a cool climate, low-growing varieties (for example, Canadian) are preferred. In warmer regions with long, hot summers, garden blueberries can be cultivated. When making a choice, the most important thing is to compare the ripening dates and climatic features of your area, otherwise the blueberries will not have time to ripen.

You can enjoy the wonderful blueberries in any region of our country. The different varieties of the berry are harvested in the early, middle or late seasons. Growing several varieties at once will help extend the harvest season until late autumn.

Landing dates

The shrub can be grown in any region of our country, given that the plant does not like long-term drying of the soil. You can plant blueberries in spring and autumn, but spring planting is more reliable: during the summer season, the seedlings on the site have time to take root and get so strong that in winter the risk of freezing becomes minimal.

In early spring, it is recommended to plant blueberries before sap flows. Planting is best done after the snow has melted and the soil has warmed up to + 6 ° C. The time for planting shrubs depends on the weather conditions of the region: from March-April in the more southern regions to May in the northern ones.

In the fall, blueberries are best planted in September or early October. Plants planted before winter take root well and practically do not freeze out. Compared to the spring planting, the autumn planting is longer in time.

Site selection and soil preparation

Blueberries are grown only in acidic soils. The plant grows well on peat bogs, sandy and sandy loam substrates. Blueberries do not tolerate predecessors, therefore, it is desirable that the area intended for it be under steam for several years.

The rotted leaf litter significantly improves soil fertility and water regime. To create such a soil in a garden plot, you can use sawdust, sour high peat, foliage, bark or other materials, using sulfur, acetic, citric or malic acid, raising the acidity of the soil to 3.7-4.8 units.

Moderate soil moisture is one of the main conditions for successful blueberry cultivation. It should not be planted in areas lying in lowlands: in such cases, there is a very high risk of waterlogging. In a shrub growing for a long time in places with an excess of moisture, the roots quickly rot and die off, it ceases to develop and bear fruit.

For planting blueberries in a summer cottage, you should choose the most illuminated place, at the same time, protected from strong winds. The yield and quality of berries in partial shade will be much worse. With a lack of light, the growth time of shoots is lengthened, which do not always have time to lignify before the first frost, as a result of which the risk of frosting in winter increases.

It is cost effective to plant several varieties of blueberries in the garden. Mixed planting of different varieties ensures good pollination and higher yields, significantly improves the taste of berries and shortens their ripening time.

Preparation of seedlings

It is better to purchase 2-3-year-old blueberry seedlings with a developed closed root system: in containers or pots. It is impossible to simply transfer them from the container into the pit, because the fragile roots of blueberries in the ground will not unfold on their own and the plant will not be able to fully develop.

Immediately before planting, the pot with the plant is immersed in a container of water for 20-25 minutes to saturate the roots and an earthen lump with moisture.The seedlings are then carefully removed from the pot, and the earthy ball is kneaded with your hands. Turning the bush upside down, the root ball is cut crosswise to a depth of 5-7 cm or, starting from the middle, torn by hand.

Landing technology

Medium and vigorous blueberry bushes are planted at a distance of 90-120 cm from each other, undersized - 70-80 cm.Prepare planting pits with a diameter of 60-70 cm and a depth of 40-50 cm in advance.On heavy loamy soils, make a wider pit of shallower depth (20-30 cm) and additionally equip a drainage layer with a thickness of 10-15 cm.

To provide air access to the roots of the plant, it is advisable to loosen the bottom and walls of the pit. To ensure the normal development of blueberries, it is necessary to create an acidic substrate in the pit.

It is recommended to lay high moor peat mixed with needles, sand and sawdust on the bottom and add 50 grams of sulfur there to oxidize the soil, mix everything thoroughly and compact. There is no need to add any fertilizers to the substrate, especially organic ones that alkalize the soil.

The seedling is lowered into a pit, its roots are spread in different directions and covered with prepared soil with high acidity. The plant is deepened 6-7 cm above the level of the coma in the pot. The earth is then slightly compacted. A small hole is made around the bush and watered abundantly. A layer of sawdust with a thickness of 9-12 cm is used to mulch the near-trunk zone.

After the autumn planting of blueberries, you need to remove all weak branches from the seedling of the first year of life with pruning shears, and shorten the developed ones by half. If the seedling is older than 2 years, no pruning should be done after planting.

Blueberry care

To obtain a rich harvest of beautiful and healing berries, blueberry plantings must be provided with competent, timely care.

Watering

For good survival and development of shrubs, moderate but constant watering without waterlogging and drying out of the soil is important. It is recommended to water the soil around the bush by drip or shallow sprinkling.

In the summer, in mid-July and August, the plant should be watered twice a day (morning and evening), several times a week, 1.5-2 buckets of water under each bush. Abundant watering during this period is very important: flower buds are laid on the bushes simultaneously with fruiting for next year's harvest. The lack of moisture will be reflected in its significant decrease in the current and next year.

When it is especially hot and stuffy, the bushes need to be cooled by spraying with cool water at 12-13 in the afternoon. Such a simple agrotechnical manipulation minimizes the stress from overheating of the plant and increases the rate of photosynthesis.

Tillage

Blueberry plantings are mulched with rotted leaves, sawdust, straw, needles in a layer 7-12 cm thick. By retaining moisture in the soil, this allows it to equalize its temperature. When mulching plantings with sawdust or fresh bark, it is necessary to additionally apply nitrogen fertilizers so that the growth and development of the bushes does not slow down.

When removing weeds around blueberry plantings, it is important to take into account the proximity of blueberry roots to the surface. We recommend shallow weeding between rows. Blueberry plantings are often planted with low-growing grasses, mowing them down and leaving them to rot.

Top dressing

Blueberries, especially tall varieties, are sensitive to a lack of fertilizers.

In early spring, when the buds swell, it is recommended to carry out the first feeding with complex mineral fertilizers such as Fertik or Azofosk (according to the instructions), the second - during the flowering period, the third - after the appearance of small berries, but no later than July 1. The dose of fertilizers per season depends on the age of the bush: a 2-3-year-old will need 10-20 grams, a 4-year-old will need 40 grams, a 5-year-old will need 50-70 grams, and an older one will need 150-160 grams.

When growing blueberries, many gardeners make a common mistake - applying organic fertilizers.Blueberries not only do not tolerate manure, compost and chicken droppings, but after using them they can even die.

You should not ignore such an important event as maintaining the optimal level of soil acidity. To this end, from April to September, twice a month, each bush is watered with a weak solution of citric acid (for 3 liters of water - 5-12 grams).

Pruning

Regular spring pruning of the bushes ensures high fruiting of blueberries. In this case, the branches lying on the ground and diseased branches, small bushy growth at the base of the plant, are to be removed. Of the annual shoots, it is necessary to leave 4-6 of the most developed ones. In erect bushes, the middle is thinned out, in spreading ones, drooping lower branches are removed.

Pest and disease control

Garden blueberry plants will be healthy and immune to disease if planted and cared for according to agricultural practices. But sometimes even healthy plants need protection. Most often, ripening blueberries are affected by birds that peck at them. To preserve the harvest, it is enough to carefully pull the mesh with small cells over the bushes.

Insects usually do not cause significant damage to blueberries, but in some years the bushes can attack the May beetles, which gnaw the leaves and eat the flowers of the plant, which significantly reduces the yield of blueberries. Beetle larvae can also eat up the roots of bushes. Blueberries can be affected by aphids, scale insects, leafworms, and pine silkworm caterpillars.

Beetles and their larvae are collected by hand and drowned in salt water. The best remedy for other pests is preventive and therapeutic spraying of blueberry plantings with Actellik (2 milliliters per 2 liters of water).

Blueberries suffer the most from fungal diseases: phomopsis (drying of branches), stem cancer, white and double spot, gray rot, physalsporosis, monoliosis of fruits. Almost all fungal diseases of garden blueberries are caused by stagnation of moisture in the roots of the plant due to insufficient water permeability of the soil or improper watering.

For prophylactic purposes, the plants are annually treated with a 3% solution of Bordeaux mixture in early spring and after harvest. Diseases are treated with a double or triple treatment with Topaz (2 milliliters per 10 liters of water) at weekly intervals.

Sometimes blueberries are affected by mycoplasma or viral diseases: dwarfism, filamentous branches, necrotic and red ring spots, mosaic. It is impossible to cure plants from them, diseased specimens have to be removed and burned.

Some problems in blueberries are caused by violations of agricultural rules. If the leaves of the plants turn light green and then yellow, the problem is most likely in the insufficiently acidic soil on the site.

If you add peat to it, the appearance of the foliage will gradually recover. Blueberry leaves can turn yellow as a result of nitrogen deficiency. For the same reason, the berries become small, and the shoots stop growing. Nitrogen fertilizers on the blueberry plot must be applied annually.