| Field experiments examining the carbohydrate content of the floral bud and other aerial shoot tissues of the wild blueberry during the late growing season and on the onset of dormancy were conducted at the Nova Scotia Wild Blueberry Institute (NSWBI), Debert, Nova Scotia and at a commercial field in Kemptown, Nova Scotia in 2001. Although late season soil- and foliar-applied N in the sprout year had few significant effects on the nutrient status of the wild blueberry, a lot of valuable information improving our understanding of the basic biology of the wild blueberry was obtained from this study. In particular, the unexpected development of the wild blueberry floral bud well into dormancy. This was evident whereby the dry weights of leaf and stem plant tissue gradually decreased leading into dormancy indicating that the plant switched to moving carbohydrates into storage for the winter. This was reinforced by the significant increase in the wild blueberry floral bud total soluble sugar (TSS) and starch content. Accordingly, the TSS content of the floral bud increased over the four month period leading up and into dormancy.; The results obtained using late sprout season soil- and foliar-applied nitrogen applications implied that the treatments should not be used in the cultural management practices of the wild blueberry. Perhaps further studies should be investigated as to whether the application time was appropriate for the purposes of bulking up the carbon and nitrogen content of the floral buds. |
