Blueberry Liberty

Blueberry Liberty
The main characteristics of the variety:
  • Authors: James Findley Hancock (Michigan, USA)
  • Appeared when crossing: Eliot x Brigitte Blue
  • Year of approval: 2017
  • Ripening terms: late ripening
  • Growth type: tall
  • Bush height, m: 1,5
  • Taste: sweet, sour
  • Yield: high
  • Average yield: 153 kg / ha (6 kg per bush)
  • Fruit size: medium
View all specifications

The Liberty variety is distinguished by its high yield, dessert taste and resistance to many diseases. This commercially recognized blueberry is one of the leading industrial blueberries. Berries are widely used in cooking.

Breeding history

The variety was bred in 1997 by the breeder James Hunk at the University of Michigan (USA) as a result of pollination of the Eliot and Brigitte Blue varieties. Included in the State Register in 2017

Description of the variety

The bush is tall, up to 150 cm, medium spreading with a diameter of 120 cm, shoots of medium length, straight, green and shiny. The leaf is oval, small, green, smooth, hard. Flowers are white, bell-shaped, collected in a dense raceme, appear in May. The shrub has a lifespan of about 30 years.

Fruit characteristics

Small berries weigh 1.5-2 g, flattened-rounded, violet-blue with a blue waxy bloom. The pulp is dense and juicy, greenish with a delicate aroma. The skin is firm. They are transported well, kept fresh in the refrigerator for about a week.

Taste qualities

The taste is sweet with sourness, sugar content - 14.2%, acid - 1.1%, ascorbic acid - 18.1%. Tasting score 4.5 points.

Ripening and fruiting

The shrub begins to bear fruit in the 4th year of life, then regularly. The variety is late-ripening in terms of ripening, the berries ripen from the end of August and throughout September. Usually 2-3 fees are required. According to some gardeners, harvesting sometimes continues until the first frost begins. In some regions, two crops are harvested per season. Can be removed mechanically.

Yield

An average of 4-6 kg is removed from one bush.

Growing regions

The variety is recommended for planting throughout Russia. It should be noted that due to the late ripening in colder climates, the harvest may not ripen in unfavorable weather.

Self-fertility and the need for pollinators

The variety is partially self-fertile; to obtain high yields, pollinators are planted nearby with the same flowering period.

Growing and care

The culture is planted in mid-April or in the second half of October. For seedlings, the soil is prepared in advance: colloidal sulfur or potassium sulfate is added. For planting in the fall, seedlings are chosen only with lignified shoots. High-moor peat, sand, rotted coniferous sawdust, bark or spruce needles are added to the garden soil. Peat should make up at least 40% of the total amount of the mixture. The optimum level of soil acidity is pH 4.0, otherwise the foliage will suffer from chlorosis.

The holes are dug 50 cm deep, and up to 100 cm in diameter. A specially prepared mixture is poured into them and poured from a watering can with a diffuser by sprinkling: 4 buckets per 1 sq. meter. One-year seedlings are buried by 2 cm, and two-year ones - by 3-4 cm. An interval of 1 m is left between the seedlings, between rows - 3 m. In a private garden, you can plant more sparsely. After planting, water and mulch with rotted pine needles.

In the first year of planting, they are fed with ammonium sulfate - 40 g for 1 bush, with an increase in the size of the plant, the annual dose is increased to 100-200 g. In addition, potassium salt is added - 40 g, superphosphate - 50 g, magnesium - 20 g.

Nitrogen compounds are applied in the 2nd year after planting: ½ of the total composition - during the budding period, together with phosphorus and potassium. The second half of nitrogen fertilization is applied at the beginning of June. To maintain acidity in the garden bed, once every 2 years, 50 g of sulfur are poured under each shrub, then watered.

In the spring, sanitary pruning is done, removing branches damaged during winter. Mature plants need annual thinning pruning. Anti-aging pruning is performed at the age of 5 years. When grown on an industrial scale, branches older than 2 years are cut to obtain larger berries on a young growth.

Blueberries require regular moisture about 2 times a week, but they cannot stand moisture stagnation at the roots. Pour with acidified lukewarm water, for this use table vinegar - 100 g per bucket of water. One bush takes about 1 bucket of water. It is imperative to mulch the root area with coniferous sawdust or needles. During the rainy season, the frequency of watering is reduced. Weeds must be removed carefully, and it is not recommended to loosen the soil so as not to damage the roots.

To grow a good healthy blueberry bush on your site and get a decent harvest of tasty and healthy berries, you need to correctly carry out the planting procedure. First of all, you need to choose the right place and time for planting, prepare seedlings and soil.
One of the important steps in blueberry care is pruning. Bushes become too dense without pruning. The crop becomes shallow and loses its taste. The plant becomes susceptible to diseases due to the mass of dried out, obsolete shoots. Pruning also prolongs the active life of the shrub. If you approach the issue correctly, you can get high yields for a fairly long time.
In order for garden blueberry feeding to be effective, it is important to remember two basic rules: first, the soil must be acidic; second, the soil must be moist. In addition, it is necessary to observe the proportions of fertilizers per bush, since both deficiency and excess of micronutrients are the cause of many blueberry diseases.

Disease and pest resistance

The shrub is weakly susceptible to diseases and pests, resistant to moniliosis and anthracnose. May be affected by gray spot - preventive spraying in spring and autumn with Bordeaux liquid helps. Bordeaux mixture and the drug Fitosporin proved to be the most effective against gray rot. The remedy "Aktara" helps against red ring spot and mosaic.

Of insects, the culture can be affected by aphids, flower beetles, leaf rollers; the preparation Fitoverm has shown itself well against these pests.

You can lose a blueberry harvest for many reasons: due to a viral infection, fungal disease or pest attack. In order to avoid unpleasant consequences, the gardener should pay enough attention to preventive measures.

Winter hardiness and the need for shelter

The plant adapts well to temperature extremes in autumn and spring, as well as to winter thaws. This is a frost-resistant species, it can withstand temperatures up to -25 degrees. It is recommended to mulch the soil around the plants for the winter in temperate climates; in colder regions, you can bend the branches to the ground and wrap them with agrofibre. It is better to cover young bushes 3-4 years old completely in any climate. Seedling containers are brought into greenhouses and wrapped up.

Proper care of blueberries in the fall and preparation for winter will help you achieve a rich harvest of tasty and fragrant berries for the next season. Autumn preparatory work includes the following points: pruning, feeding, treatment from diseases and pests, watering, shelter.

Location and soil requirements

The culture requires acidic soil, pH 3.5-5. Blueberries prefer sunny areas without a close location of groundwater; they are not suitable for wetlands and lowlands. Do not plant next to trees or other shrubs. The bed must be protected from wind and drafts.

The most important prerequisite for growing blueberries is the correct soil composition. For optimal results, the substrate should be as close to natural as possible.In nature, the berry grows on the outskirts of swamps and in humid forests, it prefers moderate moisture. The best option would be loose, oxygenated soil, which includes: high peat, rotted needles, soil from coniferous forest, sawdust of coniferous wood, chips, sand
There are several ways to breed garden blueberries, each with its own characteristics. Blueberries can be propagated by seed, layering or cuttings. When grafting, use lignified cuttings harvested in the fall. This method is considered the most optimal and reliable.

Review overview

Many people really like this variety: tall bushes give a lot of berries at once, and the harvest can be stored in the refrigerator for about 2 months. The plant tolerates winters well, does not freeze without shelter, only the roots mulch. Others believe that this blueberry is the most common, no worse or better than others.

Main characteristics
Authors
James Findley Hancock (Michigan, USA)
Appeared when crossing
Eliot x Brigitte Blue
Year of approval
2017
Yield
high
Average yield
153 kg / ha (6 kg per bush)
Transportability
good
Appointment
universal
Bush
Growth type
tall
Bush height, m
1,5
Description of the bush
medium spreading
Escapes
medium, straight, green, hairless, shiny
Leaves
oval, medium, green
Fruit brush
middle, wrist axis thin, straight, not pubescent
Fruit
Fruit size
average
Fruit shape
flattened-rounded
Fruit weight, g
1,5-2,1
Fruit color
violet blue, almost black
Skin
medium thickness
Pulp color
greenish
Taste
sweet, sour
Scent
gentle
Fruit composition
sugar - 14.2%, acids - 1.1%, vitamin C - 18.1%
Growing
Self-fertility
partially self-fertile
Frost resistance, ° C
-20 ° C
The soil
sour
Suitability for mechanized harvesting
Yes
Growing regions
Northern, North-Western, Central, Volgo-Vyatka, Central Black Earth, North Caucasian, Middle Volga, Lower Volga, Ural, West Siberian, East Siberian, Far Eastern
Maturation
Ripening terms
late maturing
Fruiting period
end of August - end of September
Reviews
There are no reviews.
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