Effects of Soil pH and Fertilizers on Haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) Vegetative Growth

Abstract

Haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) is a new northern latitude fruit crop that is increasing in popularity. This sudden enthusiasm for haskap increases the need for obtaining baseline knowledge related to establishing it as a crop, such as its optimal soil pH and fertilizer needs. In a greenhouse, one-year-old haskap plants (cultivar: Indigo Treat©) were grown in a local loamy sand. We assessed the impact of pH and fertilizer on haskap vegetative growth through an experiment involving four soil pH and five fertilization treatments of three N sources (ammonium, nitrate, and organic (chicken manure)). Leaf senescence as well as above-ground and root biomass were recorded after 19 weeks of vegetative growth. For cultivar Indigo Treat©, optimal vegetative growth was observed under slightly acidic soil conditions (pHCaCl2 5.5–6 or pHwater 5.9–6.5) without application of N. Phosphorus and K fertilizers did not influence vegetative growth. We here discuss the implications for establishing haskap orchards.

Keywords

• blue honeysuckle
• honeyberry
• nitrogen
• northern agriculture
• small fruit