Spatial dependency and independency of nitrogen in lowbush blueberry commercial fields

Abstract

Rhizomes of wild lowbush blueberry ( Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) extend horizontally, creating spatial dependency when fertilization trials are performed. Knowing this spatial dependency would help researchers to better design field studies. Here, we used labelled nitrogen (N) fertilizer (15N-(NH4)2SO4) to measure N translocation among blueberry stems for one old (56 year) and one younger (15 year) commercial field. Leaf 15N concentrations at the tip-dieback stage were used to monitor N acquisition. No difference between sites suggests no field age effect on N translocation. Spatial dependency and independency were reached for distances of ≤0.75 and ≥1.75 m from the fertilizer application point, respectively.