Influence of location and fertilization on antioxidant acitivity in highbush blueberries (<em>Vaccinium corymbosum</em> L.)

Authors

  • I. Eichholz
  • S. Rohn
  • L. W. Kroh
  • S. Huyskens-Keil

Abstract

Highbush blueberry cultivars ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Reka’ were growing in two variants of mulching and fertilizing systems on formerly used farmland. Fruits were harvested at two picking dates and analyzed for their content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. These data were compared with samples of two forest soil locations from the Brandenburg region (Beelitz and Klaistow).
The results showed significant differences between cultivars, both harvest times and different locations. The variations in fertilization and ground cover (with or without mulch) showed significant differences. Moreover, it is demonstrated that without ground cover and commercial fertilization higher contents of total phenolic compounds and an increase in antioxidant activity tendentiously occurred. This result paralleled the decline in vegetative growth and was associated with drought stress.

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Published

2012-11-29