EFFECTS OF FERTILIZER APPLICATION, PRECEDED BY TERBACIL, ON GROWTH, LEAF NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION, AND YIELD OF THE LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY, Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.

Terbacil (3-tert-butyl-5-chloro-6-methyluracil) (2.2 kg/ha) and five fertilizer rates (0, 45, 90, 135 or 180 kg N/ha in a 1:1:1 ratio) were applied pre-emergence to commercial lowbush blueberry fields at five locations. Leaf analysis indicated that N, P, and K concentration increased with increasing fertilizer rates; however, Mg concentrations decreased at rates higher than 45 kg N/ha. Stem length and branching increased linearly with increasing fertility rates. Although fruit bud formation was unaffected, yield was reduced by all fertilizer treatments.