Blueberry Guide - get the most of your blueberry fertilizer

Blueberries, as a delicate crop, require careful attention to specific sensitivities when planning a nutritional program for the growing season. Haifa’s Nutri Haitech™ provides comprehensive, precision-based nutritional solutions that make your operations more sustainable, efficient, and productive, while reducing waste and environmental impact.

Nutri Haitech™ combines targeted plant nutrients with user-friendly, advanced digital tools, empowering you to create optimal fertilization plans tailored to any terrain and weather conditions.

 

Blueberry Nutrition Highlights

Salinity

The blueberry plant is susceptible to salinity, so care must be taken to keep the soil and the irrigation water should not exceed 1.25 mS/cm.

pH

Nutrient uptake is optimal at pH range of 4.5-5.5

Bicarbonates

The optimal level of bicarbonates in the irrigation water is 0.3-0.5 meq/l (18-30 ppm). Higher levels will interfere with calcium uptake and reduce fruit quality. 

Magnesium

To ensure optimal development and photosynthesis, adequate supply of magnesium is required throughout the growth season.

Sodium

High sodium levels disturb the uptake of potassium and calcium, reducing crop's quality; Note that substrates often contain high Na levels; Low-sodium fertilizers should be preferred.  

 

Blueberry Growth Stages

Vegetative growth
Use ammonium (NH4+) as the main nitrogen source to lower the pH, encourage micronutrient uptake and support growth of vigor, productive plants.
 
Bud emergence & pruning
Apply balanced NPK or high-K foliar fertilizers to overcome cation antagonism to ammonium.
 
Flowering
Use nitrate (NO3-) as the main nitrogen source to increase fruit size. Nitrate improves magnesium uptake and helps avoiding cation antagonist.

Fruit setting and development

Foliar application of potassium (K+) at these stages improves plant water management and fruit quality.
 

Harvest
In cases of low transpiration, apply calcium (Ca2+) by foliar sprays to support fruit development, prevent green fruit drop and improve fruit quality. 
In hot days days apply calcium early in the morning to allow for water uptake.

 

 

Haifa Solutions for Blueberry nutrition

Note: the recommendations brough here should be considered as general guidelines. The actual program should consider the plant status and growth conditions. Consult Haifa agronomist to suit the optimal nutritional program for your blueberry crop.    

Stage

Bud Emergence & Pruning

Vegetative

Flowering

Fruit setting & Filling

Harvest

No. of days

60

45

60

45

60

Multicote™ Agri (8) 
13-15-16+1+ME

 

 

 

 

 

Gypsum

 

 

 

 

 

Poly-Feed™ GG
12-5-40+2+ME

 

 

 

 

 

Haifa Cal™ GG

 

 

 

 

 

Haifa BitterMag™

 

 

 

 

 

Haifa Micro™ Combi

 

 

 

 

 

HaifaStim™ Force

 

 

 

 

 

Haifa Stim™ Calmaster

 

 

 

 

 

HaifaStim™ Wall-Up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Soil application  Nutrigation™  Foliar application, bi-weekly

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