Highbush blueberry "Goldtraube"

Highbush blueberry "Goldtraube" (Vaccinium corymbosum "Goldtraube" – a cultivar of the common blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum). The cultivar was developed in 1957-58 in Germany.

It is a mid-season cultivar. The plant is tall, 2-3 m in height and 1.5-2 m in diameter. Annual growth up to 70 cm. The crown is spreading, wide, rounded. Branches are long and pendulous.

Leaves are elliptic in shape, lush, soft, glossy, light green in color, very decorative in summer and autumn.

Flowers are bell-shaped, white or pale pink, up to 1 cm long. Blooms in May.

Fruits are large, up to 15 mm in diameter, round, matte light-blue in color with a glaucous bloom, with a pleasant aroma. Taste qualities are high, flavor is sweet-and-sour. Flesh is firm. Yield is high, 2.5-3.2 kg per bush. Weight of 100 berries – 190 g. Berries do not crack. Ripen in July-August.

Hardiness zone: 4 (-34°C).

Location: undemanding, hardy, frost-resistant. To avoid damage to flowers from spring frosts, plant blueberries in sites without stagnant cold air and not on a south-facing exposure.

Soil: soil should be well-drained, with the groundwater table no closer than 50 cm from the soil surface. Prefers light loam or sandy loam, grows poorly on heavy soils. Optimal pH 3.5-5.2. To lower pH, sulfur can be used, applied one year before planting blueberries. Grows and yields well on soil with high organic matter (for this, green manure crops are sown one year before).

Planting: distance between rows – 2.6-3.5 m, distance between plants 0.8-1.6 m. Planting is carried out in autumn and spring. Add 5-10 L of well-moistened peat into the planting hole.

Pruning: pruning is carried out in early spring. Remove shoots damaged by frost, as well as thickening and lateral branches. Usually every 6th branch is removed during pruning (if the bush consists of 12 branches, cut off the 2 oldest). Remove branches damaged by disease, as well as those that touch the ground. To improve berry quality, it is recommended to thin the fruiting twigs.

Care: requires a small amount of nutrients and does not tolerate concentrated fertilizers. Nitrogen is applied in the ammonium form, preferably ammonium sulfate. Nitrogen application rate 10-24 kg/ha (applied in 2 doses); on commercial plantations 50-70 kg/ha. On soils with high organic matter, reduce the rate; on poor and light soils – increase it. Phosphorus on plantations is applied at 60-820 kg/ha, potassium is applied after full entry into fruiting – 50-100 kg/ha for the entire season. Do not apply potassium chloride and other chloride-containing potassium fertilizers. Micronutrients are applied as foliar feedings. Mulching the bushes with peat or sawdust is recommended.

Harvesting: harvest is picked in the morning, after the dew has evaporated, from early July until September. Harvest is picked every 7-10 days, cooled and stored at 0+2°C and air humidity 90-95%. Produce can be stored for up to 14 days. Berries are harvested 5 days after acquiring color.

Diseases and pests: practically unaffected.

Propagation: to preserve varietal characteristics, blueberries are propagated vegetatively – by hardwood and semi-hardwood cuttings, layering, partial bushes, shoots with part of the rootstock and pieces of rootstock. Hardwood cuttings are prepared in December-March. From one-year shoots cut cuttings 7-10 (10-15) cm long. The lower cut is slanted under the bud, the upper – horizontal, above the bud (by 1.5-2 cm). Dip the lower cut into Kornevin. The rooting medium consists of peat or peat-sand with bark or well-rotted sawdust. Cuttings are planted in beds at spacings 5×5, 5×7, 5×10 or 10×10 cm. Semi-hardwood cuttings are taken during the summer rest period – from late June to late July, less commonly until early August. For their preparation use shoots formed by the current year's growth or branching shoots, which are cut so that a little of last year's wood remains – a "heel". For propagation by layering, individual branches are covered with sawdust and waited on until roots appear (after 2-3 years).

Uses: blueberries are grown for their berries, which are consumed fresh; suitable for processing, for making jam, wine, fruit drinks or juices. Mixed with cranberry, lingonberry, bilberry.