Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2011
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Blueberries belong to the genus Vaccinium, a widespread genus with more than 200 species of woody plants. In Northern Europe, the European blueberry (EB), also called bilberry, is one of the most important wild berries. EB (Vaccinium myrtillus) is very demanded by the processing industry, due to its delicious taste and high dietary value. However, to our knowledge there has been made no efforts of domestication of the species, and it is still harvested in forest fields without any cultivation. The successful management of the sweet lowbush blueberry (V. angustifolium), which in many ways is similar to the EB, suggests that there are opportunities to increase yield and decrease the significant yearly variation in EB yield, by practices including fertilization, irrigation, cutting trees, and weed control. The fruit yield in wild stands of EB is very variable, but the potential is probably close to 2 tons per hectare. Results from literature on growth of the EB, development and ecology are discussed in relation to possibilities for domestication.
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Recent research on how the structure and physiological development of red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) plants are controlled by genotype and the climatic environment is reviewed. Some older work, specially on plant structure relations, is also included. Physiological differences between annual- and biennial-fruiting plant types are highlighted. One major difference is the different requirements for flower formation. While biennial-fruiting cultivars have an absolute low temperature (≤ approx. 15°C) requirement for floral initiation, annual-fruiting cultivars readily initiate floral primordia at temperatures as high as constant 30°C. Also, while biennial-fruiting cultivars are facultative short-day plants with a critical photoperiod of 15 h at intermediate temperatures, flowering is promoted by long photoperiods in at least some annual-fruiting cultivars. However, the essential difference that determines whether the shoot life-cycle becomes annual or biennial is that, in biennial-fruiting genotypes, floral initiation is linked to the induction of bud dormancy, whereas in annual-fruiting cultivars, floral initiation is followed by direct flower development. Although this is genetically determined, it is a plastic trait that is subject to modification by the environment. Thus, at low temperatures and short photoperiods, the majority of initiated buds do enter dormancy also in annual-fruiting cultivars, with tip-flowering as a result. Practical applications are discussed, and it is concluded that our present physiological knowledge-base provides excellent opportunities for manipulation of raspberry crops for out-of-season production and high yields. It also provides a firm platform for further exploration of the underlying molecular genetics of plant structures and response mechanisms.