What to do if blueberries do not grow in the country?

Sometimes summer residents are faced with the fact that blueberries planted in a garden area do not bear fruit. This cannot but upset the lovers of the still rare berry, because the shrub is planted with the intention of getting a harvest of healthy and tasty fruits. In this case, it will be necessary to analyze the growing conditions of the crop and the care provided to it. Only by correctly determining the reason for the lack of fruiting, it will be possible to correct the situation.

Causes leading to a lack of fruiting

Blueberries may not bear fruit due to mistakes in agricultural technology or as a result of various diseases. The state of the plant will be indicated by its appearance and some symptoms. Based on the results of the inspection, a decision is made on further actions.

Wrong agricultural technique

Even when cultivated, blueberries are very sensitive to growing conditions. At the dacha, approximately the same microclimate should be created for it as in its natural habitat.

The development of culture is influenced by many factors. Fruiting may be absent for the following reasons:

• Crop rotation is not observed. Blueberries do not grow and do not develop well in the area after potatoes and other vegetables. The plant is comfortable only in such a soil, in which organic matter has not been introduced for several seasons (last 5 years). It is best to plant blueberries in the place where perennial herbs grew before.
• Poor quality seedling. Don't skimp on buying blueberry seedlings. You need to give preference to an instance located in a large container. Saplings in small containers have a poorly developed root system. Often, the roots are very tangled and tucked inward, which can negatively affect fruiting.
• Planting in a shaded area. Blueberries often lack berries if planted in the shade. The bush itself will take root well in such conditions, it will develop normally, but there will be no berries. You need to plant shrubs in a sunny place with protection from cold winds.
• Planting in alkaline soil. Under natural conditions, blueberries grow in acidic soil. If the pH does not meet the needs of the crop, the plant will not be able to develop normally, much less bear fruit. It is necessary that the acidity of the soil was at the level of 3.5-4.5 pH.



• The close location of groundwater. With a high groundwater table, blueberries should be planted on a mound, the basis of which is a mixture of peat with river sand and coniferous sawdust. A layer of fertile soil is poured on top and a blueberry bush is planted. With this planting, the roots will have enough oxygen and moisture, but at the same time they will not suffer from stagnant water.
• Planting a single copy. Blueberries are self-fertile plants and require cross-pollination, so at least two bushes of different varieties with the same flowering time must be planted.



• Mulching is not applied. Mulch has a very beneficial effect on the development of blueberries and their fruiting. The protective layer retains the necessary moisture in the soil, prevents it from overheating. In winter, mulch protects the root system from freezing.

Sometimes, for blueberries to start bearing fruit, it is enough to simply adjust the care. In some cases, the bush will have to be transplanted to another place.

Common diseases

Garden blueberries can be affected by bacterial and fungal diseases. As a result, the weakened plant does not bloom or bear fruit.

Most often blueberries are affected:

• Moniliosis of fruits. Fungal disease gives symptoms similar to frostbite. The shoots of the plant wither and turn yellow, gradually the whole blueberry bush turns black and dies.
• Gray rot. Brown or reddish spots appear on shoots, leaves and fruits, later acquiring a gray tint. The harvest is severely affected by fungal disease. If gray mold begins to develop at the time of flowering, blueberries will not bear fruit.
• Phomopsis. The parasitic fungus infects the shoots, causing them to dry out. First of all, the disease manifests itself on young shoots. The leaves turn brown, covered with red spots.
• Double spotted leaves. The disease often begins in early spring with the appearance of many small spots of different colors. In the future, the areas affected by the fungus expand, darker spots appear in their center. The spread of the disease is facilitated by rainy weather.
• Stalk cancer. A dangerous fungal disease of blueberries manifests itself in the appearance of red spots on the ribs of leaf plates and on young shoots. Over time, the spots creep, become dark. When the disease spreads, the branches die off. Stem cancer is more common on young plants.
• Mosaic. The disease manifests itself by the appearance of a mosaic yellow-green pattern on the leaves. The virus is spread from one plant to another by ticks.
• Dwarfism. The causative agent of the disease is mycoplasma. The bush hardly develops, the fruits are not set. Single berries of small size, tasteless. Leaves also gradually become smaller.
• Filamentous branches. A dangerous viral disease that lasts for a long time in a latent form. The first symptoms can be seen on blueberries only after a few years. The plant stops growing, the leaves on it turn red and wrinkle. Young shoots are covered with thin stripes.
• Red annular spot. The disease is of a viral nature, manifests itself closer to the middle of summer by the appearance of reddish spots on the leaves. Gradually, the disease covers the entire bush, and the blueberry dies.
• Necrotic spotting. A characteristic symptom of a viral disease is the appearance of ring-shaped red spots on the leaves. First, the lower tier of foliage gets sick, then the bush is completely affected.

To avoid problems, preventive treatment of the bush is carried out in spring and autumn. In early spring, blueberries are treated with 1% Bordeaux liquid or a solution of the drug "Rovral" in the same concentration.

After the leaves bloom, the bushes are sprayed three times with the fungicides "Euparen", "Kuprozan" or "Benomil", applying them according to the instructions. An interval of 7-10 days is maintained between treatments. The same prophylaxis is carried out at the end of the growing season, after leaf fall.

How to make blueberries bear fruit?

Wild blueberries begin bearing fruit at the age of fifteen. In culture, you can get the harvest much faster. Already in the second year after planting on blueberries, the first berries appear, after another 2 years mass fruiting begins.

But this only happens when the berry grower is provided with perfect care. If mistakes were made in agricultural technology or the plant was struck by a disease, you can forget about getting a crop. However, with timely measures, next year it will be possible to enjoy the taste and benefits of blueberries.

Eliminating care errors

If the shrub has no signs of disease and does not bear fruit, it will need to be transplanted to another place or changed in its care. A transplant is necessary if the soil is oversaturated with organic matter, the plant does not receive enough light, water stagnates in the soil, the seedling is planted with the roots bent upwards and does not develop well.

To bring the acidity of the soil to the required rate, use apple or table vinegar in a 9% concentration (5 tablespoons per 10 liters of water). The plant is mulched annually in spring or autumn.The root system of blueberries is located in the surface layer of the soil, so this technique is of great importance.

As mulch, you can use:

• sawdust;
• bark;
• straw;
• peat.

The most durable mulching material is sawdust (it can last for several seasons). It is better to use coniferous wood waste. The layer thickness should be about 10 cm.

For full pollination, several more plant specimens are planted next to a single-planted blueberry bush that does not produce berries. New seedlings should be of a different variety, but have the same flowering time.

Fighting disease

If any of the fungal diseases occur, you should put things in order in the garden area. Fallen leaves are removed from under the blueberry, weeds are weeded, sanitary and thinning pruning is carried out. The affected plant parts are removed. After that, the shrub is sprayed with fungicides.

To treat fungal infections of blueberries, you can use:

• Topsin;
• "Euparen";
• Fundazol;
• "Speed".

The working solution is prepared in accordance with the instructions for the selected drug. Processing will need to be carried out three times with an interval of 7 days.

Having recognized a viral disease, the shrub must be destroyed. Diseases caused by the virus cannot be cured. To prevent the infection from spreading, the uprooted bushes must be burned outside the site.

Prevention of viral diseases is good care of plants and the timely destruction of harmful insects - carriers of viruses.

Most of the reasons blueberries refuse to bear fruit must be addressed. The biggest problem is viral diseases - if they occur, the bushes will have to be destroyed. In all other cases, purposeful efforts will definitely bring results.