Peru: Soil improvement for blueberry cultivation

When it comes to growing blueberries in soil, producers must incorporate improvers for the preparation of arable land. Usually, not all the land is suitable as it doesn't have the ph required by blueberry crops. In these cases, producers must apply special substrates with nutrients so that the plant establishes its roots adequately.

Engineer Alvaro Villalba, a specialist in blueberry cultivation of the Projar-Peru company, said that the cultivation of blueberries in Peru was becoming increasingly professional and that it was demanding a greater use of technology to optimize resources and achieve better production.

Villalba recommended improving soils for the cultivation of blueberries using professional substrates such as Sustraberry Premium Blueberry, which is composed of thick-walled blonde peat, Cocopeat Coarse® coconut fiber, and pearlite.

"Applying substrate in the planting hole, helps the roots to establish themselves more easily and to develop much better, as the combination of balancing the pH with higher organic matter provided by the peat, makes the plant grow better. This will make the plant begin to produce earlier and have better harvests both in quantity and quality," he said.

The substrate for improved soils has coarse granulometry, and it is free of pathogens and weed seeds. "It is perfect for blueberry, which requires acid pH values. The optimal interval is 4.5 and 5.5," he added.

This substrate, he said, is long-lasting, since coconut degrades less than peat. In addition, it provides physical stability and coconut fiber prevents compaction and, therefore, facilitates proper drainage.

Sustraberry Premium Blueberry comes in presentations of: 80-liter sack, 120-liter sack, or Maxibala. This last format is preferred by large farms.

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