Blueberries in Lower Saxony

In Lower Saxony, 1800 ha of blueberries are currently being cultivated, with a yield of around 6-8 tons per hectare. This is far from covering the demand for this fruit: in Germany there is a per capita requirement of around 1.5 kg per year.

In addition, the demand for certified organic berries has generally increased in recent years, with a corresponding impact on agriculture. As early as 2015, according to figures from the federal government, around 26 percent of the entire bush berry area was farmed organically, and the trend is rising.

However, growing without agrochemicals brings with it some operational challenges. On the one hand, organic berry farms are increasingly coming under pressure from pest and disease infestation. On the other hand, blueberries only thrive on "acidic" soil and can only absorb nitrogen in the form of ammonium. The ammonium contained in organic manure is relatively unstable and either escapes as gaseous ammonia or is mineralized in the soil to form nitrate and is therefore no longer absorbable. With a soil pH of >5, iron absorption is also inhibited and deficiency symptoms and reduced yields can occur.

Decreasing biodiversity, in particular due to the death of bees, is also causing lower crop yields. Problems like these mean that organic farms cultivating blueberries can currently only harvest around 3-4 tons per hectare, which calls into question the economically ecological cultivation of these relevant special crops. In addition, large amounts (400-1000 cubic meters) of mulch material are required in blueberry crops.

The project of the operational group (OG) therefore pursues the overall goal of minimizing the economic risk factors in organic blueberry cultivation and thus realizing high-yield cultivation. This should be realized in particular with innovative bio-based fertilizers and plant strengtheners. The methods and approaches will be made accessible to other companies that want to open up new branches of industry during the project period and beyond.