Fertilization and nutrition for blueberry
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Pick the plot first Open a new chat and tap Plots (All) under the question box. Choose the plot you want advice for. ORTH then works from that plot’s crop, variety, soil and documents, and from the farm weather. For blueberry Pick one plot of one variety. We picked Arándanos: Ventura southern highbush blueberry on 1.82 ha under macrotunnel, about 6,000 plants planted in January 2023, sandy soil and drip. Every number below is for that plot. - 2
Start from the Nutrition button Under the question box, tap Nutrition. ORTH offers five ready-made questions, from reading a soil, water or leaf test to a season-long program. Tap one and ORTH asks it straight away, or type your own question. For blueberry Blueberries need an acidic root zone. The bicarbonate in your irrigation water decides how hard that is to keep, so the water test matters as much as the soil. - 3
Ask for the season program We tapped Build a season-long nutrition program for this crop. ORTH proposed 20 actions from 6 November to 13 August: post-harvest recovery, budbreak, flowering, fruit set, harvest and next season’s reserves. Nitrogen comes mostly as ammonium, and potassium from a chloride-free source such as potassium sulfate. ORTH gave no kilograms per hectare yet and rated the program three stars. Its first actions fill the gaps: a water sample on 6 November, a root and drainage check on 18 November and the dose calculation on 25 November. - 4
Save the proposal as actions When ORTH proposes a plan, tap Review to see every action with its date, category and instructions. Change or add actions if you need to, then tap Create. The actions land in the plot’s plans, ready to assign to someone on your team. For blueberry On Arándanos this saved the 2026–27 Blueberry Nutrition Program with 20 actions. Its first action is the water sample, so the program gets sharper as the results come in. - 5
Let ORTH read your irrigation water We attached the analysis of the farm well (example data) and asked what it means for the root zone. ORTH named the bicarbonate, 3.8 meq/L, as the main constraint, more than the water pH of 7.6. Water like this pushes the wetted root zone up and makes iron and manganese harder to take up, faster in sandy soil. ORTH added the file to Arándanos, so later answers use it too. - 6
Acid from the alkalinity, and what the water brings Neutralising all the bicarbonate would take 3.8 mol of acid per cubic metre, and ORTH called that a ceiling: leave some alkalinity, or the pH drops too fast and burns fine roots. The real dose needs a bench titration, the acid label and the injector calibration. Every 1,000 m³ of this water also brings 5.65 kg of nitrate nitrogen, 52.1 kg of calcium and 19.4 kg of magnesium to deduct, and 85 kg of chloride, so avoid potassium chloride. The file is example data, so ORTH rated it two stars. - 7
Ask what changes for your blueberries We asked ORTH what really changes for northern highbush, rabbiteye and blueberries in coir pots. Every type needs the same acidic, low-salt root zone, and the water decides the acid. Northern highbush runs later and needs a real dormant stop. Rabbiteye is more vigorous: less nitrogen pressure, spread over a longer season. Coir pots are a different system: manage each pulse by the pH and EC of the feed and the drain, avoid an all-ammonium feed because coir acidifies fast, and use washed, buffered coir. ORTH rated it three stars as a framework.
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