Content
Liberty blueberries are a hybrid variety. It grows well in central Russia and Belarus; it is cultivated in Holland, Poland, other European countries, and the USA. Suitable for growing on an industrial scale.
History of selection
The Liberty highbush blueberry was bred in Michigan (USA) by experienced breeder D. Hunk in 1997. The starting material for the variety was Brigitte Blue and Eliot blueberries. Thanks to them, Liberty has high yields and late ripening. The hybrid was patented in 2004.
Description of the berry crop
The variety has all the characteristic features of this berry crop.
General ideas about the variety
The height of the bush reaches one and a half meters and occupies 1.2 meters in diameter.The bush grows voluminous, covered with hard green leaves, elliptical in shape, pointed at the end.
Berries
The berries are blue, covered with a white waxy coating, dense. They are collected in clusters. They have a length of 13 mm and a diameter of up to 15 mm. The average weight of one berry is 1.5 g.
Sweet and sour, aromatic. They are easily picked from the bunch, well stored and transported. A dessert variety, widely used in cooking. Tasting score 4.5 points.
Characteristic
The characteristics of Liberty blueberries indicate a late-ripening variety, but the berries have time to ripen before frost.
Main advantages
Liberty is a frost-resistant variety and can be grown in the Far East and Siberia. Just to preserve the plant in such a climate in winter, you need to make a reliable shelter.
The culture requires constant moisture. Stagnation of water is unacceptable. To prevent the soil from drying out, the tree trunk circle is mulched with pine litter or sawdust.
Blueberries, when following the rules of agricultural technology, grow and bear fruit well. The main requirement is acidic soil for growing.
Flowering period and ripening time
The plant blooms in May, the first harvest is harvested in August. This variety belongs to the late types of blueberries.
Yield indicators, fruiting dates
Tall Liberty blueberries produce about 6 kg of berries per bush. Fruits from August to the end of September. You can harvest two crops per season.
Area of application of berries
Blueberries are healthy and tasty when eaten fresh. The berries are used to make jams, compotes, preserves, pie fillings, jellies and marmalade. Freezing is used for winter storage.
Resistance to diseases and pests
This blueberry variety is resistant to moniliosis and anthracnose.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Breeders from the USA have preserved the best qualities in the Liberty blueberry variety.
Garden blueberry Liberty has the following advantages:
- High yield.
- Easy to care for.
- Frost resistance.
- Growing in various climatic conditions.
- Delicious and healthy berries.
- The ability to transport them and keep them fresh for a long time.
Disadvantages - the need for winter shelter in the northern regions.
Landing rules
Blueberries require certain conditions to grow successfully.
Recommended timing
Tall Liberty blueberries are planted in the ground in spring and fall. Spring planting is preferable. This is April-May before the buds open. Spring planting is more reliable for plant survival.
Choosing a suitable location
Blueberries love an abundance of sunlight; the planting site requires good sunlight, there should be no groundwater in the root area, and there should be no stagnation of melt water.
Soil preparation
Liberty blueberries should be planted in acidic soil with a pH of 3.5-5 units. The soil must be fertile, it is useful to add peat. Before planting, the bed must be dug up and removed. weeds.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
2-3 year old bushes are suitable for this purpose. You should choose seedlings in pots with closed roots, planted in acidic soil.
It is worth paying attention to the condition of the plant; it should have a healthy appearance, green leaves and brown bark. You should choose seedlings zoned to a specific region.
Algorithm and landing scheme
Planting Liberty blueberries is as follows - first, prepare holes. Their depth is about half a meter, with a gap of one meter between plants. Place in rows at a distance of one and a half to two meters.Blueberries like free placement; it is not worth planting bushes and trees nearby.
The algorithm for planting seedlings is as follows:
- Pots with seedlings are filled with water and kept for three hours.
- Remove the plant from the pot and place it in the hole. The roots are straightened and covered with soil.
- Water the seedling until the water is completely absorbed.
- Mulch the plantings with peat.
- Two-year-old seedlings are buried 4 cm more than they were in the pot. Younger ones less.
We invite you to watch a video about planting Liberty blueberries.
Subsequent care of the crop
Planting and caring for tall Liberty blueberries includes: watering, fertilizing, loosening and mulching.
Necessary activities
Proper and timely watering of the plant is necessary. Blueberries are a moisture-loving crop. To increase the acidity of the soil, add table vinegar to the water - 100 g per bucket of water.
We should not forget about fertilizing. All the main elements are introduced - nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, microelements.
One of the important fertilizers is nitrogen. The main part is applied at the beginning of the season, the rest is divided into June-July, and nitrogen is not used in the future.
The tree trunk circle is loosened and mulched. To maintain the acidic reaction of the soil, it is mulched with pine needles, peat or bark.
Shrub pruning
In the first year after planting, formative pruning is done. This will create a healthy bush with strong skeletal branches. In the future, during annual pruning, diseased and broken shoots, as well as thickening branches, are removed.
Anti-aging pruning is done every year. Two-year-old shoots from which the berries have been removed are removed. This results in a higher yield and larger berries.
Preparing for winter
In most regions of Belarus and Central Russia, adult blueberry bushes can overwinter without shelter. For them, it is enough to fertilize with mineral fertilizers without nitrogen in August and mulch the tree trunk circle with peat or sawdust.
Young plants are covered with agrofibre or made into huts from spruce paws. You can grow blueberries in containers. For wintering they are brought indoors or in a greenhouse.
Collection, processing, storage of crops
Berries in small areas are picked by hand; they are easily torn from the bunch, but do not release juice. When industrially growing berries on large plantations, mechanized harvesting is carried out.
Berries can be stored for some time in the refrigerator. They are frozen for winter storage. It is possible to process blueberries into jams, preserves, compotes and juices.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
The main crop diseases and methods of combating them are presented in the table.
Blueberry diseases | Characteristic | Fighting methods |
Phomopsis mushroom | Young shoots curl and dry out. Red spots are visible on the leaves | Treatment with Bordeaux mixture in spring and autumn, use of antibiotics. Diseased parts should be cut off and burned. Avoid over-watering |
Gray rot | Red spots appear on all parts of the plant, then turn gray | Spray the plants with Bordeaux mixture, be sure to spray the bottom of the leaves. It is good to use Fitosporin. Till the soil under the plant. Avoid excessive humidity |
Mosaic
| Leaves are affected. Yellow mosaic spots appear on them. The source of the disease is a tick | Treatment with fungicides, the drug "Aktara", it is safe to use "Fitoverm". A diseased plant cannot always be cured; then it is removed.To avoid disease, crop rotation should be observed. |
Red ring spot | Red rings appear on old blueberry leaves, which cover the entire plant and destroy it. | Similar to the prevention and control of mosaic |
Blueberry pests | Characteristic | Control measures |
Aphid | The tops of the shoots and leaves curl, and a continuous layer of small insects is visible inside them. Leaves are damaged. Carries viral diseases | Destroy ants that spread the pest to plants. Treat the plant with Fitoverm or ammonia solution |
Flower beetle | Damages buds and buds. A small beetle is visible on them | Treatment with “Fitoverm” or insecticides such as “Aktara”, “Healthy Garden” |
leaf roller | Eats buds and leaves, wraps them in cobwebs | The actions are the same as with the flower beetle. |
Liberty blueberries require care that is somewhat different from other berry crops. The main requirement is to plant the plant in acidic soil. Further care is not at all difficult, so you can get a good harvest when you first start growing this crop.
