Fruit Quality and Yield of Three Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) Cultivars Grown in Two Planting Systems under Different Protected Environments

Abstract

Due to the increasing interest in highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) among consumers, together with the problems of climate change and specific substrate requirements, a novel approach to intensive blueberry production is required. Here, ‘Duke’, ‘Aurora’, and ‘Brigitta’ blueberry cultivars were planted under the protective environments of a high tunnel and black hail net, each using ridge and pot planting systems. The high tunnel increased the maximal air temperature on average by 7.2 °C compared to the hail net. For all three cultivars, harvest began 6 to 18 days earlier under the high tunnel than under the hail net; however, lower yields and individual phenolics contents were obtained for the fruit. In ‘Aurora’ and ‘Brigitta’, environmental conditions under the high tunnel also reduced plant volume and fruit sugar/organic acid ratio. Growing blueberry plants in 60 L pots had no negative effects on plant volume and fruit ripening time, yield, firmness, color, and chemical composition. This study represents the first to compare highbush blueberry grown under the high tunnel and hail net protective environments using ridge and pot planting systems across three different cultivars. Here, we can conclude that optimal highbush blueberry production of ‘Duke’, ‘Aurora’, and ‘Brigitta’ under the climate conditions of the study provides earlier ripening times under the high tunnel. However, according to fruit yield and quality, all three cultivars benefit from the hail net over the high tunnel, while ‘Duke’ and ‘Brigitta’ also benefit in particular from the hail net combined with growth in pots.

Pot and Ridge Production of Three Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) Cultivars under High Tunnels

“…Although 'Brigitta' showed a significantly higher h • value and lower fruit firmness, these differences were negligible and could not be detected by the naked eye. These results are also in agreement with our previous study [23].…”

“…The similar growth rates between cultivars within the individual planting methods suggest that growth is primarily a cultivar, and secondarily an environmental, trait. 'Duke' originates from Maryland, USA, 'Aurora' from Michigan, USA, and 'Brigitta' from Victoria, Australia [22,23].…”

Untitled

“…Highbush blueberry berries, according to researchers from Ukraine (Shevchuk et al,2021), France (Brat et al, 2006) and other countries of the world (Smrke et al, 2021), are a source of nutritional biologically active substances that are useful for the human body. They contain a significant number of compounds that have an antioxidant effect, in particular: vitamin C, polyphenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and chalcones.…”

“…Compared to other crops, blueberries are a significant source of anthocyanins (Grace et. al., 2019;Smrke et. al., 2021).…”

Correlation between Destructive and Non-Destructive Measurements of Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) Fruit during Maturation

“…According to recent studies, anthocyanins are the most represented group of phenolics found in blueberry fruit [13]. Their accumulation in blueberry peel contributes to both peel color (red, blue, purple) and fruit nutritional value [3,4,14], suggesting a positive correlation between ripening stage, anthocyanin content, peel color intensity, and fruit quality [5,15]. In general, genetic background (i.e., cultivar) defines which anthocyanins occur in blueberry fruit, while environmental factors determine their content [16].…”