Effects of Soil pH and Fertilizers on Haskap ( Lonicera caerulea L.) Vegetative Growth

Catherine Tremblay, Annie Deslauriers, Jean Lafond, Julie Lajeunesse and Maxime C. Paré
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Catherine Tremblay: Laboratoire d’écologie végétale et animale, Département des sciences fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Saguenay, QC G7H 2B1, Canada
Annie Deslauriers: Laboratoire d’écologie végétale et animale, Département des sciences fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Saguenay, QC G7H 2B1, Canada
Jean Lafond: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec Research and Development Centre, Normandin Research Farm, Normandin, QC G8M 4K3, Canada
Julie Lajeunesse: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec Research and Development Centre, Normandin Research Farm, Normandin, QC G8M 4K3, Canada
Maxime C. Paré: Laboratoire d’écologie végétale et animale, Département des sciences fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Saguenay, QC G7H 2B1, Canada

Agriculture, 2019, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-7

Abstract: Haskap ( Lonicera caerulea L.) is a new northern latitude fruit crop that is increasing in popularity. This sudden enthusiasm for haskap increases the need for obtaining baseline knowledge related to establishing it as a crop, such as its optimal soil pH and fertilizer needs. In a greenhouse, one-year-old haskap plants (cultivar: Indigo Treat©) were grown in a local loamy sand. We assessed the impact of pH and fertilizer on haskap vegetative growth through an experiment involving four soil pH and five fertilization treatments of three N sources (ammonium, nitrate, and organic (chicken manure)). Leaf senescence as well as above-ground and root biomass were recorded after 19 weeks of vegetative growth. For cultivar Indigo Treat©, optimal vegetative growth was observed under slightly acidic soil conditions (pH CaCl2 5.5–6 or pH water 5.9–6.5) without application of N. Phosphorus and K fertilizers did not influence vegetative growth. We here discuss the implications for establishing haskap orchards.

Keywords: blue honeysuckle; honeyberry; nitrogen; northern agriculture; small fruit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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