Estimation of growth and yielding of five highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) cultivars

In the years 1996-1999, a study was conducted on the estimation of the growth and yielding of northern highbush blueberry on a brown soil developed from loess. The study comprised bushes from five highbush blueberry cultivars - ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Bluejay’, ‘Darrow’, ‘Herbert’ and ‘Jersey’ - aged from six to nine years since planting. ‘Bluecrop’ bushes were the tallest and those of ‘Darrow’ the shortest, but ‘Darrow’ was characterised by the largest number of annual shoots. The best yielding was ‘Darrow’ and its berries were the largest. ‘Bluejay’ and ‘Jersey’ produced the lowest yields. In the study, the highest estimate was awarded to ‘Darrow’ (number of annual shoots, yielding, fruit size), and ‘Bluecrop’ also proved to be a valuable cultivar.