Nutrient Dynamic in Rabbiteye Blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade)

This work was done in Zacatlán, Puebla, Mexico, in a blueberry rabbiteye orchard in full production; the objectives were to know the nutrient dynamic during the different fruit development stages, to identify the critical stages of different elements, and to know the nutrient diagnostic of the plants. For this, samples of leaf and fruit in five different fruit development stages were collected: green fruit, change of color in fruit (green–pink), beginning of ripe (red–pink fruit), during maturation (blue–red fruit), and ripe (blue fruit). The concentrations of macronutrients and micronutrients were determined. The order of nutrient concentration in leaves was: N>Ca>K>Mg>P>Fe>Mn>B>Zn>Cu. The critical stages in the cultivation of fruit were at change of color in fruit (green–pink) and fruits at the beginning of ripe (red–pink fruit). The culture presented deficiency of N and K, and soil fertility was medium to low in K, Ca, Cu, Fe, and N available to plants. Concentration in the fruits of all evaluated elements except Cu, had a decrease with advancing fruit development. In the leaves the concentration of all elements showed two major peaks, one in the green fruit stage and another at the end of fruit development (ripe fruit). These results will allow to establish an appropriately fertilization program to obtain optimum yields.