DYNAMICS OF SOIL NUTRIENT STATUS OF HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY IN LATVIA, 2006-2017

In Latvia, the first commercial highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) plantings have been established on a few hectares at the end of the 1990th. Since then, a remarkable growth has noticed and today the total cultivated area reaches 280 hectares. An increasing market demand for fresh and processed berries provides a future upward trend in the development of blueberry crop in Latvia. In general, blueberry is a highly specialized crop that has definite soil agrochemical and climatic requirements. There are two main soil types used for blueberry cultivation in Latvia: well-drained acid sandy soils with high organic matter content and sphagnum peat soils. Evaluation and management of pl…