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Blueberry Liberty is a hybrid variety. It grows well in central Our Country and Belarus, it is cultivated in Holland, Poland, other European countries, the USA. Suitable for commercial cultivation.
History of breeding
Tall blueberry Liberty was bred in Michigan (USA) by an experienced breeder D. Hunk in 1997. The source material for the variety was the blueberry Brigitte Blue and Eliot. Thanks to them, Liberty has a high yield and late ripening. The hybrid was patented in 2004.
Description of berry culture
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, shaped like an ellipse, pointed at the end.
Berries
The berries are blue, covered with a white wax coating, dense. They are gathered in bunches. 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. Easily plucked from the bunch, well stored and transported. Dessert variety, widely used in cooking. Tasting score 4,5 points.
Characterization
The characteristics of Liberty blueberries indicate a variety of late ripening, but the berries have time to ripen before frost.
Main advantages
Liberty belongs to frost-resistant varieties, it can be grown in the regions of the Far East and Siberia. Only to keep the plant in such a climate in winter, you need to make a reliable shelter.
Culture requires constant moisture. Water stagnation is unacceptable. To prevent the soil from drying out, the trunk circle is mulched with coniferous litter or sawdust.
Blueberries, subject to the rules of agricultural technology, grow and bear fruit well. The main requirement is acidic soil for growing.
Flowering period and ripening period
The plant blooms in May, the first harvest is harvested in August. This variety belongs to the late types of blueberries.
Yield indicators, fruiting terms
High blueberry Liberty gives about 6 kg of berries from a bush. Fruiting from August to late September. You can harvest two crops per season.
Scope of berries
Blueberries are healthy and tasty fresh. Berries are used to make jams, compotes, preserves, pie fillings, jelly and marmalade. Freezing is used for winter storage.
Disease and pest resistance
This blueberry variety is resistant to moniliosis, anthracnose.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Breeders from the United States have retained the best qualities in the Liberty blueberry variety.
Garden blueberry Liberty has the following advantages:
- High productivity.
- Uncomplicated care.
- 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.
Rules of landing
Blueberries require certain conditions for successful cultivation.
Recommended dates
Tall blueberry Liberty is planted in the ground in spring and autumn. Spring planting is preferred. This is April-May before bud break. Spring planting is more reliable for plant survival.
Choosing the right place
Blueberries love an abundance of sunlight, the landing site requires good sunlight, there should be no groundwater in the root area, stagnation of melt water.
Soil Preparation
Liberty blueberries should be planted in acidic soil with a pH of 3,5-5 units. The soil should be fertile, it is useful to add peat. Before planting, the bed needs to be dug up, weeds removed.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
For this purpose, 2-3-year-old bushes are suitable. 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 that are zoned to a particular region.
Algorithm and landing scheme
Planting Liberty blueberries is next – for starters, pits are prepared. Their depth is about half a meter, between the plants there is a gap of one meter. Placed in rows at a distance of one and a half to two meters. Blueberries love free placement, planting bushes and trees nearby is not worth it.
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, sprinkled with soil.
- Water the seedling until the water is completely absorbed.
- Mulch plantings with peat.
- Two-year-old seedlings are buried 4 cm more than they were in a pot. Younger less.
We offer you to watch a video about planting Liberty blueberries.
Culture aftercare
Planting and caring for Liberty high blueberries includes: watering, fertilizing, loosening and mulching.
Necessary activities
Proper and timely watering of the plant is necessary. Blueberry is a moisture-loving crop. To increase the acidity of the soil, table vinegar is added to the water – 100 g per bucket of water.
We should not forget about top dressing. All the main elements are introduced – nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, trace elements.
One of the most important fertilizers is nitrogen. The main part is brought in at the beginning of the season, the rest is divided into June-July, in the future nitrogen is not used.
Perform loosening of the trunk circle and its mulching. To maintain the acidic reaction of the soil, it is mulched with coniferous 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, with annual pruning, diseased and broken shoots, as well as thickening branches, are removed.
Rejuvenating pruning is done every year. Remove two-year-old shoots from which the berries are removed. This results in higher yields and larger berries.
Preparation for winter
In most regions of Belarus, Central Our Country, adult blueberry bushes can winter without shelter. For them, it is enough to fertilize with mineral fertilizers without nitrogen in August and mulch the near-stem circle with peat or sawdust.
Young plants are covered with agrofiber or make huts from spruce paws. You can grow blueberries in containers. For wintering, they are brought into a room or greenhouse.
Collection, processing, storage of crops
Berries in small areas are harvested by hand, they easily come off the bunch, while not letting the juice. In the industrial cultivation of berries on large plantations, mechanized harvesting is carried out.
Berries can be stored in the refrigerator for some time. They are frozen for winter storage. It is possible to process blueberries into jams, marmalades, compotes and juices.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
The main diseases of the culture and methods of dealing with them are presented in the table.
Blueberry diseases | Characterization | Methods of struggle |
Phomopsis mushroom | Young shoots curl and dry up. Red spots on the leaves | Treatment with Bordeaux liquid in spring and autumn, the use of antibiotics. Sick parts should be cut and burned. Avoid over-wetting |
Gray mold | Red spots appear on all parts of the plant, then they turn gray | Spray the plants with Bordeaux liquid, always the bottom of the leaves. It is good to use Fitosporin. Work the soil under the plant. Avoid excessive moisture |
Mosaic
| Leaves are affected. Yellow mosaic spots appear on them. The source of the disease is a tick | Treatment with fungicides, Aktara preparation, it is safe to use Fitoverm. A diseased plant cannot always be cured, then it is removed. Crop rotation should be observed to avoid disease |
Red ring spot | Red rings appear on old blueberry leaves, which cover the entire plant and destroy it. | Similar to mosaic prevention and control |
Blueberry pests | Characterization | Control measures |
aphid | The tips of the shoots and leaves are twisted, inside them a continuous layer of small insects is visible. Leaves are damaged. Carry viral diseases | Destroy ants that spread the pest through plants. Treat the plant with “Fitoverm” or a solution of ammonia |
Cvetod | Damages buds and buds. They have a small beetle on them. | Treatment with “Fitoverm” or insecticides such as “Aktara”, “Healthy Garden” |
Leaflet | Eats buds and leaves, wraps them in cobwebs | The actions are the same as with the flower beetle. |
Blueberry Liberty requires care somewhat different from other berry crops. The main requirement is planting the plant in acidic soil. Further care is not at all difficult, so you can get a good harvest by first starting to grow this crop.