DOMESTICATION OF WILDGROWING LINGONBERRIES (VACCINIUM VITIS-IDAEA) IN SWEDEN

ISHS Acta Horticulturae 346: V International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture

DOMESTICATION OF WILDGROWING LINGONBERRIES (VACCINIUM VITIS-IDAEA) IN SWEDEN

Author:

I. Hjalmarsson

Abstract:
Lingonberry jam and beverage are traditional Swedish delicacies. Nowadays they are produced in quantity by industry who require continual supply which cannot always be achieved when wild berries are used. Since the sixties experiments to cultivate lingonberries domestically have been carried out in Sweden. The results indicate that successful cultivation requires:

healthy, productive and hardy plant material,
fields not exposed to spring frosts,
sandy soil, pH 4–5, with adequate content of humus,
small, balanced supplies of nutrients,
irrigation to avoid plant stress,
control of weeds.

Plants can be selected from wildgrowing lingonberries and directly transplanted into the field. They may also be pre-cultivated in peat beds to promote the root development. Woody cuttings root easily, yield early but are slow to initiate rhizomes. Seedlings behave the opposite way. Recently two Swedish lingonberry varieties, 'Sussi' and 'Sanna', were introduced by Balsgärd. Both originate from wildgrowing clones.

Future research of lingonberry cultivation in Sweden will focus on plant breeding in combination with studies of the mineral-nutrient physiology and the root growth.

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