FATE OF LABELED FERTILIZER NITROGEN IN COMMERCIAL LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY STANDS

Labelled fertilizer nitrogen (N-15) was applied to four commercial lowbush blueberry stands in order to assess the fate of fertilizer N. Thirteen weeks after application, 45 and 64% of the labelled fertilizer N was recovered from blueberry plants at Debert and Pigeon Hill, respectively. This suggests rapid uptake of fertilizer N by blueberry plants. Sixteen months after application, an average of 67% of the fertilizer N was recovered from the four sites. The results of this study support other evidence suggesting that lowbush blueberry systems conserve fertilizer N.