The United States is the world’s largest producer of blueberries. They are also grown in Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and British Columbia.
In Kenya,
the highlands of the Central and Western regions, such as the Aberdare Ranges
and Mount Kenya, provide the ideal conditions for blueberry cultivation in open
fields.
Currently, blueberries are being grown in a few of these regions, mainly in Murang’a by Kakuzi limited. At the moment, Kakuzi grows the fruits in pots under a greenhouse covering 10 hectares. This is the largest successful blueberry farm in Kenya for now.
Blueberry Seedlings |
Nutritional Benefits
The
sweet, juicy fruits are rich in antioxidants and great for eating freshly
picked or for adding to smoothies and desserts. Blueberries are one of nature’s
superfoods, crammed with essential nutrients like vitamins K and C, minerals
including manganese and health-boosting polyphenols. They’ve even been proven to help with the old
grey matter. If you want to include this fabulous fruit in your garden, there’s
no time like the present to get planting.
Growing Conditions
You’ll
get the most from your blueberries if you can provide a sheltered site, free from
strong winds, with good or full sun hours to help those beautiful berries
mature. The bushes are hardy, but avoid frost-prone areas of the garden, which
can hamper the springtime flowers.
Most
varieties are self-fertile, so in theory you can grow one on its own. In
reality, you will get far better pollination and more fruits if plants can
cross-pollinate. For this reason, it pays to grow at least two different
varieties together.
Blueberry farming in Kenya: The New Gold in Agribusiness
Varieties
There
are three commercially important species of blueberries namely;
- High bush
- Low bush
- Rabbit-eye
Within each species, there are many cultivars or varieties. Blueberry cultivars are chosen based on production area temperature and the chilling requirements of different species. Chilling is the accumulated number of hours between 32 degrees celsius and 45 degrees Celsius necessary for flower buds to develop on a dormant plant. Rabbit-eye and high-bush plants require fewer chilling hours to produce fruit.
Low-bush
species are native wild blueberry plants; however, they are still managed
intensively with production techniques. High-bush and low-bush species are the
most common species grown for commercial production.
Climate
Blueberries
require a cool climate with temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius. The
crop also requires relatively high amounts of water supply to sustain a healthy
and productive growth.
Water and irrigation requirements
Sufficient
amounts of water for growing blueberries can be described as that which will
maintain the soils as consistently moist but not waterlogged. Remember, the
bushes are sensitive to excess water and can develop root rot. Therefore, the
crop requires regular watering either through irrigation or rainfall. Watering
can be through drip irrigation, which applies water directly to the roots, or
by overhead sprinklers for the hotter areas to keep the leaves cool and reduce
the risk of sunburn.
Blueberry Farming in a Greenhouse |
Soil
The
soil that blueberries grow in is really important. They’re heath land plants,
so there’s little point planting them in anything other than acidic soil. It’s
literally fruitless. And they need it really acidic, ideally with a pH of
between 4.0 and 5.5. You can find out your soil’s exact pH using a soil pH test
kit.
If
your soil is neutral or alkaline, all is not lost. You can amend your soil by
adding sulfur chips or an organic soil acidifier several months ahead of
planting to slowly bring down soil PH. Or for an immediate fix, plant your
blueberries into a dedicated raised bed, filled with acidic, or ericaceous
potting mix.
Top 5 High Yielding Banana Varieties in Kenya
Fertilizer
Nitrogen
and ammonium sulfate fertilizers are used to increase soil acidity.
Spacing
Space
plants about 5 f, approximately 1.5m apart for best yields and don’t be tempted
to space them less than 3ft, approximately 90cm apart. Alternatively, you can
plant into large containers of ericaceous – acidic compost , potting mix, which
will be a lot cheaper than filling an entire raised bed, but make sure never to
let them dry out.
Choose
a frost-proof pot at least a foot, that’s 30cm wide, with drainage holes in the
bottom. Start filling with your ericaceous potting mix then remove the
blueberry from its pot. Place it on the potting mix then fill in around the
sides with more. The top of the potting mix should end up level with the top of
the root-ball. Water it thoroughly, topping up the potting mix if necessary as
it settles. Optionally, finish with a decorative mulch of pine needles or bark
chippings.
Care and Maintenance
Keep
the soil or potting mix moist, watering whenever it gets dry. Mains water will
gradually raise the pH levels, so use collected rainwater instead to keep the
soil acidic.
Container
plants will need regular feeding using a liquid fertilizer specially formulated
for acid-loving plants. Plants in the ground simply need mulches topped up
occasionally using an acidic organic material such as leaf mold, bark
chippings, pine needles or composted sawdust. Do not use manure, which is both
too rich and too alkaline for blueberries.
Remember
to transplant container blueberries into larger pots as soon as the roots fill
the container and protect flowers from any late frosts using row cover fabric.
A Blueberry Farm |
How to Establish Your Blueberry Plant(s)
- Choose the right variety: Different varieties of blueberries have different soil and climate requirements, so it's important to choose a variety that is well-suited to your growing conditions.
- Soil preparation: Blueberries prefer loam or sandy loam soils. The red volcanic soils of central Kenya are ideal since they are also slightly acidic, giving the required pH of 4.5 to 5.5. If your soil is not naturally acidic, you can amend it with animal manure, rabbit Urine or peat moss to lower the PH. Additionally; add compost manure matter to the soil to improve its fertility and structure.
- Spacing: For high-bush blueberries, a common spacing is 4-5 ft between plants and 8-10 ft between rows. This allows for proper air circulation and sunlight penetration, which can help to prevent disease and promote fruit production. For low-bush and rabbit-eye blueberries, which are smaller in size, a spacing of 2-3 ft between plants and 4-5 ft between rows is recommended.
- For containers, the container should be at least 18 inches in diameter and deep enough to accommodate the plants root system. A spacing of 2-3 ft between plants is recommended in this case.
- Plant at the right location: Blueberries should be planted on a location that gets full sun for at least 8 hours a day. Hence do not plant them under big trees that cast shadows on them.
- Provide proper irrigation: Blueberries require regular watering during the growing season to keep the soil consistently moist. This typically means providing 1-1.5 inches of water per week through irrigation or rainfall.
- Prune and maintain the bushes: Blueberries require regular pruning to remove dead or diseased wood, and to promote bush growth. Prune the bushes just before the rains. Additionally, it's important to keep an eye out for pests or diseases that could damage the bushes.
- Fertilizer application: Blueberries benefit from regular fertilization, especially with an acidic fertilizer that has a high percentage of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) such as: 5-10-10, 8-8-8 or 10-10-10.
Growing Blueberry From Seed
High-bush
blueberry can be propagated from seeds, cuttings from an established plant or
bare root.
Common Pests and Diseases
Pests
These
include; Blueberry bud mite, flea
beetle, Japanese beetle, sharp-nosed leafhopper, thrips.
Management
- Control of mites can be difficult as they are protected from pesticides by bud scales; miticides are most effective when applied just after harvest when the buds have not yet formed as they are more exposed to the chemical.
- If beetles were a problem in the previous year, use floating row covers to protect plants or spray kaolin clay; adult beetles can be hand picked from plants and destroyed by placing in soapy water; parasitic nematodes can be applied to soil to reduce the number of overwintering grubs; insecticidal soaps or neem oil can help reduce beetle populations
- Plantations of blueberry can be monitored for sharp-nose leafhoppers through the use of yellow sticky traps; insecticides registered for use on blueberry are generally quite effective at reducing leafhopper populations and should be applied to coincide with leafhopper dispersal to limit the spread of blueberry stunt.
- Infested areas can be removed by pruning; in commercial plantations the insecticides registered can be very toxic to bees and should be applied at dusk when bees are not actively flying.
Diseases
These
include; Gray Mold, Powdery Mildew, stem canker, Phytophthora root
rot.
Management
Plant
disease-free, dormant plants; remove or bury mummified fruit, if burying fruit
cover with at least an inch of soil; application of appropriate foliar
fungicides are very effective at controlling diseases in commercial plantations. Also
use of good cultural practices: plant blueberries in well-draining soils or in
raised beds; sanitize all tools and equipment regularly and avoid transferring
soil between sites.
Beetroot Farming in Kenya: Common Asked Questions on Beetroot Farming
Pruning Blueberries
One
of the great attractions of blueberries to first-time fruit growers is that
they require very little pruning. Begin by cutting out any dead stems and stem
tips, then thin any overcrowded branches and any growing too close to the
ground. To keep established plants productive, cut out about a quarter of the
oldest branches every year.
Harvesting
Blueberries
are picked by hand for fresh market for small scale farmers. For large scale
growers, they are picked by hand and later harvest by machine for either the
fresh market or processed market depending on fruit condition and current
market prices.
Mechanical
harvesters (this is for large scale growers like in the United States) straddle
the row shaking the bushes with mechanical fingers to remove ripe berries. The
ripe berries fall into a catch frame and are conveyed into plastic field lugs
that carry about 9-10kg of fruit. Fields that are machine harvested are usually
harvested multiple times to retrieve all mature fruit.
Lemon Farming in Kenya: Guidelines For Planting and Market Opportunities
Post- Harvest Handling
Within
hours of picking, blueberries are transported by to a packinghouse. They are then cleaned to remove leaves, sticks, and underweight berries. All blueberries are then graded
and sorted. Fruit destined for the fresh market are packed in clear plastic packing containers.
A Blueberry Plant with Fruits |
Market Outlook
The market for blueberries in Kenya is growing quite fast, with
increasing demand from both local and international buyers. These fruits are
currently available only in select supermarkets. The price of blueberries in
Kenya is currently between Ksh1,600-2,000 per kilogram, depending on the
quality of fruit.
Blueberry
farming in Kenya is highly profitable because of the low supply against a high
and growing demand. An acre of land can accommodate approximately 2,000 bushes.
The bushes start bearing fruits after 2 years and the yield keeps increasing to
peak at 4 years when the plants fully mature.
At
maturity, a single blueberry bush can produce 5kgs of fruits per year. That
means you can get 10 tons of fruit from one acre. At the current price of
Ksh1600, you would be making Ksh16 million in revenue if you sell directly to
the end consumers.
Seedlings
There
are not as many blueberry seedlings for sale in Kenya however; you can get high
quality seedlings from Richfarm Kenya from time to time. You can call or
WhatsApp on O724698357 or 0723213602 to place an order for your seedlings.
Note:
You might need to wait in line for your seedlings to be produced.
- Cost per seedling ksh.500
- Seedlings per acre: 2000 seedlings
- Spacing: 4-5 ft between plants, 8-10 ft between rows, but varies depending on variety
- Fruit price: Ksh. 1600- 2000 depending on quality
- Yield: 5kg per plant annually
- Common pests: Blueberry bud mite, flea beetle, Japanese beetle,
sharp-nosed leafhopper, thrips.
- Common diseases: Gray Mold, Powdery Mildew, stem canker, Phytophthora root rot.
- Lifespan- Perennial
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where is blueberry grown in Kenya?
- How fast do blueberries take to grow?
- Where do blueberries grow best?
- Which berries grow in Kenya?
- Where do I get blueberry seedlings in Kenya?
- What is the establishment cost in blueberry farming?
- Who are the largest growers of blueberries in Kenya?
- Is blue berry farming profitable?
No comments:
Post a Comment