Evaluation of the yield of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) cultivars and their economic efficiency on commodity plantations in Poland in the years 2020–2022

Abstract

The selection of suitable highbush blueberry cultivars is a prerequisite for obtaining an optimal yield that determines the profitability of production and competitiveness on the market. The study assessed the production efficiency of highbush blueberry cultivars concerning the fruiting period, taking into account the size of the plantation, and evaluated the economic efficiency of the fruiting period. Production efficiency was assessed based on yields obtained according to data from 15 production plantations from all over Poland in 2020–2022. Economic efficiency was determined by analysing the production value, the amount of costs, and the Gross Margin. It was shown that yields of highbush blueberry cultivars differed depending on the ripening time. Generally, the highest yields were obtained in cultivating varieties with middle ripening time. The analyses show that the most prolific varieties in the three-year study, starting from the early to late ones, were Spartan and Duke, Bluecrop, Chandler, Aurora and Nelson. The cultivation of highbush blueberries was profitable in all the analysed plantation groups in the analysed years, although the level of economic production efficiency differed depending on the fruiting period of the cultivated varieties.