Blueberry Plants and Drip Line Irrigation

Blueberry and Drip Irrigation Basics

• Blueberries grown for fruit include lowbush, highbush, southern highbush and rabbiteye varieties. Although these blueberry types differ in growth characteristics, such as height, all need consistent moisture for best growth and berry production. Similarly, drip irrigation lines are one of several recommended methods for supplying water for cultivated crops and are useful for all types of blueberry bushes. Gardeners may install drip irrigation lines above ground or buried. You have the option to connect drip lines to municipal water supplies, wells or ponds; also, you can automate drip systems or manually control them.

Advantages

• Keeping soil evenly moist can increase blueberry fruit yields and fruit size, as well. Drip irrigation is easy to install and automated systems can save time spent watering. Using drip irrigation rather than sprinklers reduces water lost to evaporation and avoids possible problems from water spraying on the plants, such as fruit splitting or being knocked off the bushes. Growers can also use the drip lines to apply fertilizer solutions.

Disadvantages

• Drip irrigation with treated water from municipal systems or wells may contain boron, chlorides or sodium, to which blueberries are highly sensitive. Water that is too alkaline, with a pH of 7 or above, is also problematic for acid-loving blueberries. In addition, using pond water requires additional filtering systems for particulates. Frost protection, which is possible using an overhead sprinkler system, isn't possible with drip lines.

Considerations

• If you live in an area where wild blueberries thrive, such as Maine or the mountains of North Carolina, you likely have ideal growing conditions and may not need routine supplemental watering or fertilizing. Similarly, if you have a small planting that is easily watered by hand in times of drought, the cost of watering your blueberries by drip irrigation may be much greater than the worth of the crop they produce. Even with a drip irrigation system, you may need to vary the amount of water supplied for blueberry bushes at different points in their life cycle. Younger bushes require less water than mature bushes; all shrubs need more water while fruits are ripening.