Irrigating Blueberry in Pine Bark Amended Soils

In central Florida, blueberries are raised in 30-cm-high pine bark beds over native sandy soil. Despite having a high C:N ratio (300:1), pine bark continually degrades to less than 15 cm in less than five years. This degradation is due to high doses of nitrogen fertilizer and high summer temperatures coupled with frequent irrigations and summer rainfall. A constant irrigation schedule over five years is not helpful as blueberry rootzone depth decreases continually, reducing plant available water.