IMPACT OF FOLIAR FERTILIZATION ON THE QUALITY PARAMETERS OF BLUEBERRY FRUITS

Plant nutrition is one of the determinate factors in fruit production and fruit quality. The aim of the present study is to evaluate some biochemical parameters of blueberry fruits (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), varieties: 'Duke', 'Blueray', 'Hannah's Choice' and 'Elliott' under the influence of foliar organic and conventional fertilizers applied, along with a control treatment without fertilization. The experiment was conducted in the years 2020-2021 in a four-year plantation in the southern region of Romania. Two organic products: Algacifo 3000 (2 L/ha) and ERT 23 Plus (1 L/ha) and one chemical product: Poly-Feed 19-19-19 + ME (10 kg/ha) were used as fertilizer treatments applied to the leaves of the plants. The experimental design was completely randomized according to the indicated treatments with three replicas. Biochemical parameters of the blueberry fruits, like organic acids, total polyphenols content, total dry matter content, total sugar and anthocyanin pigments were analyzed annually. The results indicated that foliar application with organic treatments significantly stimulated the fruit quality.