Abstract
Differential thermal analysis (DTA) was used to study the freezing behavior of `Berkeley' blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) flower buds at cooling rates of 10, 5, and 2C/hour. Experiments were conducted at various stages of hardiness on excised and attached (5 cm of stem) buds. The presence and number of low-temperature exotherms (LTEs) in hardy buds generally increased when analyses were conducted using faster cooling rates with excised buds. The number of LTEs detected in individual buds did not correlate (r2 = 0.27) with the number of injured florets. The inability to detect LTEs in buds attached to stem segments and cooled at 2C/hour indicates that DTA cannot reliably estimate blueberry flower-bud hardiness in field plantings.
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