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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #177604
Title: PLANT WATER USE DIFFERS AMONG THREE MATURE HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY CULTIVARS

Author
item YANG, WEI - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item Bryla, David
item STRIK, BERNADINE - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/20/2005
Publication Date: 7/1/2005
Citation: Yang, W.Q., Bryla, D.R., Strik, B. 2005. Plant water use differs among three mature highbush blueberry cultivars. Hortscience. 40(4):1127.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Water use by three mature highbush blueberry cultivars was determined in 2004 using TDR technology. A set of four buriable TDR waveguides, located at 6”, 12”, 18”, and 24” depths, and two surface waveguides, 6” and 18” long, were installed at four random locations in commercial ‘Bluejay,’ ‘Bluecrop,’ and ‘Jersey’ blueberry fields and used to measure soil water content every 3-5 days from April to September. We found that average daily water use, referred to as crop evapotranspiration (ETc), was significantly different at various stages of crop development in each cultivar. Peak water use coincided with advancement of fruit maturity. ‘Bluejay’ and ‘Jersey’ required the most water, using as much as 0.35”/day and averaging 1.5-2”/week in June and July. Crop coefficients at bloom, fruit development, harvest, and post harvest, calculated by dividing ETc by reference evapotranspiration (ETo) obtained from a nearby weather station, were 0.90, 1.51, 1.05, and 1.05 for ‘Bluejay,’ 0.84, 1.11, 0.99, and 1.23 for ‘Bluecrop,’ and 0.94, 1.30, 1.39, and 1.17 for ‘Jersey,’ respectively.