Abstract
We are testing readily available by-products as constituents in soil-free media and as soil amendments for growing highbush blueberry. These by-products include coal ash, composted sewage sludge and leaf compost. Combinations of ash and compost were compared to Berryland sand (alone) and Manor clay loam (alone and compost amended). The pH of all treatment media was adjusted to 4.5 with sulfur at the beginning of the experiment. In 1997, plants of ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Sierra’, were planted in 15?L pots containing the pH-adjusted treatment media. The first substantial crop was harvested in 1999. At the end of the 1999 season, one half of the plants were destructively harvested to analyze stem and root growth. Treatment comparisons for the 1999 fruit harvest and destructive analyses are presented here. Total growth and yield of both cultivars was reduced on clay loam soil compared to Berryland sand, whereas growth and yield of plants in coal ash/compost mixtures exceeded that of plants in Berryland sand.
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