Comparison of berry quality in highbush blueberry cultivars grown according to conventional and organic methods

Authors: IRENEUSZ OCHMIAN, KAROLINA KOZOS, PIOTR CHELPINSKI, MALGORZATA SZCZEPANEK

Abstract: This research was conducted in the Laboratory Orchard at the Department of Horticulture, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin and at a certified production farm specializing in the cultivation of highbush blueberry located in Szczecin. The effect of cultivation conditions?organic plantation in organic peat substrate (pH 3.46) and conventional plantation in mineral substrate (pH 5.32)-on the berry quality of four highbush blueberry cultivars (firmness, size, chemical composition including content of organic compounds and polyphenols) was examined. Blueberry bushes were planted at a spacing of 2.3 × 1.2 m. Bushes were planted on organic and conventional plantations, and the substrates differed in terms of mineral content. Specific environmental conditions and soil conditions (optimum pH of the substrate) resulted in larger berries on the organic plantations, and the total yield contained big berries (diameter, >12 mm; mean, 83.4%) with lower polyphenol content (287 mg 100 g^-1). The berries of the Elliott cultivar, regardless of how the crops were grown, were the largest, characterized by the lowest content of SS (15.3%) and the highest acidity (0.98 g 100 g^-1). They were also the most likely to shed. The Duke cultivar was most susceptible to mechanical damage (101 G mm) and was characterized by the lowest berry firmness (162 and 363 G mm) and polyphenol content (organic, 185 mg; conventional, 228 mg 100 g^-1).

Keywords: Chemical composition, farming methods, firmness, phenolic, substrate, Vaccinium

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