Establishment and Management of the Cultivated Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)

Cultivated blueberries Vaccinium corymbosum and V. virgatum) have been propagated and planted successfully throughout the world. The lowbush blueberry V. angustifolium and V. myrtilloides) have large areas of production in the state of Maine in the United States and in the Atlantic and Quebec Provinces in Canada on managed naturally occurring native stands. Except for some small demonstration plantings in Canada and a few plantings in Northern China, it has not been managed as a cultivated plant. Extensive plantings of cultivated lowbush blueberries have not been developed because of the slow establishment and lack of rhizome production from cuttings that limit its productivity compared to the cultivated blueberry. Tissue culture plants offer a more juvenile growth habit and quicker establishment, but may not yield as well as cuttings. Lowbush blueberry plants establish from seed quicker but have more genetic variability and a lower yield. A seed propagated lowbush blueberry family such as 'Novablue' will provide both rapid establishment and high yields. If planted on the proper sites and managed in the same manner as the wild blueberry, this would provide cultivated lowbush blueberry fields that are more productive than their native North American wild blueberry counterparts.