Description and characteristics of the Toro blueberry variety, planting and care rules

Blueberries are a tasty and healthy berry. It is increasingly being planted in garden plots. Toro blueberry is a tall plant that can grow up to 10 kilograms of berries per year. It places great demands on the acidity of the soil, as well as on its care. The berries are used fresh, as well as canned and frozen.

History of variety development

The Toro blueberry was developed relatively recently, in 1987. Toro was obtained as part of a breeding program by American scientists. This is the result of crossing the Erliblue and Ivanhoe varieties. Varietal blueberry bushes are grown both in individual garden plots and on an industrial scale.

All the pros and cons of culture

The advantages of Toro blueberries include the following:

• it has tasty, healthy fruits;
• tolerates frosty winters well;
• the berries are large, so they are easy to pick;
• the plant produces a bountiful harvest every year;
• the crop can be stored for a long time;
• the berries have a high marketability.

Disadvantages include the rapid completion of fruiting, as well as high demands on acidic soil. In addition, blueberry bushes, like other plantings, require constant care.

Description and characteristics of Toro blueberries

The mid-season blueberry variety is used not only as a fruit-bearing shrub, but also as an ornamental planting.

Bush and root system

The Toro variety is a tall blueberry variety. The bush can grow up to 2 meters in height. The erect plant grows in strength every year. Its leaves are large and heart-shaped. Blueberries have a superficial root system, so it is important to keep the soil moist.

Flowering, fruiting and productivity

Toro blueberry blooms in May. Abundant fruiting begins in the 4th year after planting. Tender, sweet and sour blueberries ripen in early August. The berries are large, bluish-blue in color, their diameter reaches 2 centimeters. They are collected in large clusters and retain their quality throughout the entire harvest period. With good care, 7-10 kilograms of berries are harvested from one bush.

Additional Information. Blueberry juice is difficult to wash off hands, so vinegar is used to clean them..

Insect and disease resistance

If agrotechnical work is not followed, the variety is susceptible to diseases. Most often, due to excessive soil moisture, bushes are affected by various rots. Toro blueberries have low disease resistance, so you need to properly care for them.

The variety can also be affected by harmful insects. Large pests can be collected by hand, small ones can be sprayed with insecticides. If the plant shows signs of disease, it will also need spraying, but with fungicides. When using drugs, they are guided by the age of the plants, and also follow the instructions for using the products.

Resistance to low temperatures and drought

Toro blueberries can withstand frosts down to -30°C. It can be grown in regions with both warm and cool climates. Both waterlogging and lack of water are detrimental to the variety. Mulching with peat and coniferous tree bark will help retain moisture in the soil.

Planting and care

Young blueberry bushes at the age of 1-2 years, with a height of 50 centimeters, are planted in open ground. In order for plants to bear fruit abundantly, they require constant care.

Timing and technology of planting

Young Toro blueberry bushes are planted in the spring, before buds open, or in the fall, at the end of the growing season. Plants grown in pots can be planted throughout the season. Planting is done as follows:

• holes measuring 60x60 centimeters are dug;
• drainage is laid out at the bottom;
• garden soil is mixed with peat and poured into the hole;
• the roots are carefully straightened and covered with substrate so that the root collar is buried no more than 5 centimeters;
• the bushes are watered and mulched.

If there is no peat, then instead you can use a soil mixture consisting of garden soil; land taken from under coniferous trees; as well as rotted pine or spruce needles. In addition, colloidal sulfur is used to deoxidize the soil in the garden, which is added in the fall to a depth of 10-15 centimeters at the rate of 1 kg/m².

Important! Blueberries will develop well and bear fruit only in acidic soils!

Frequency of crop irrigation

Toro blueberries are a moisture-loving crop, so they need to be watered often. In spring, the procedure is carried out, depending on weather conditions, 1-2 times a week. In summer, watering is important for the formation of flower buds for the next season. In autumn, watering is significantly reduced.

Fertilizer application

The bushes are fed several times a season. The first time - before the start of sap flow, with a complex fertilizer consisting of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The same composition is used for the next feeding, which is done during blueberry flowering, and again during active fruiting. At the beginning of autumn, fertilizer is applied to help strengthen the plant and gain strength before frost.

There is also a special fertilizer for blueberries on sale with instructions for use. Many gardeners like to feed their plantings with bone or dolomite meal and wood ash. For blueberries, these components will be detrimental, since they alkalize the soil, and the crop requires acidic soil.

Garden bed care

Care consists of timely watering, fertilizing, mulching the soil, and pruning.Adding peat, pine litter, and sawdust to the roots helps retain moisture in the soil, prevent the growth of weeds, and will also serve as fertilizer for plants when rotting.

In order for the bushes to actively grow and bear fruit, starting from the second year of life, they begin to be fed.

From the same year, sanitary pruning is carried out, removing broken, diseased, frozen branches. Young growth is removed, which takes away the strength of the plant and also contributes to the formation of fungal diseases due to poor drying of morning dew on them. At the beginning of spring and at the end of summer, to increase the acidity of the soil, it can be spilled with a 9% vinegar solution (70 milliliters per bucket of water).

Rejuvenating and shaping pruning

To rejuvenate the plant, all branches older than 5 years are pruned. This procedure helps maintain fruiting. Formative pruning is needed to thin the crown from unnecessary branches that thicken the bush. It should be taken into account that the greatest yield is produced by shoots of the second year of life. Shoots that do not produce flower buds (blind) are removed.

Note! Pruning improves the illumination of the bush, which promotes the formation of large berries.

Preventative treatments

As a result of improper care, blueberries can be affected by fungal diseases. Most often this occurs from waterlogging of the soil by an inexperienced gardener, as well as as a result of excessive precipitation. To prevent diseases, blueberries are sprayed with various preparations, for example, Agricola or Iskra according to the instructions.

In addition, the bushes can be sprayed with copper-containing preparations, such as Bordeaux mixture, HOM, copper sulfate.To prepare 3% Bordeaux mixture at home, you need to take the following components:

• 300 grams of copper sulfate;
• 300 grams of lime.

Cooking process:

• Dilute lime in 3 liters of hot water, then add 2 liters of cold water;
• Mix copper sulfate with 1-2 liters of hot water, after it has cooled, bring the volume of liquid to 5 liters.

Each of the components is diluted separately, then the following order is observed: a solution of copper sulfate is added to the strained milk of lime. The mixture quickly loses its properties, so it must be used on the same day.

Sheltering bushes for the winter

Before frost sets in, young Toro blueberry bushes are bent to the ground and secured with ropes tied to metal arches. The structure is covered from above with canvas fabric, spunbond, and then spruce branches. The device must be reliable, otherwise the bushes may remain unprotected from bad weather. You should not cover the plants ahead of time: in the warmth, shoots may begin to grow, which will subsequently die from frost.

Reviews about the variety

According to reviews from gardeners, Toro blueberries have tasty, aromatic berries that have a good presentation. They can be consumed both fresh and canned. The variety requires constant care, including watering, fertilizing, and pruning. If you grow Toro blueberries in insufficiently acidified soil, they will not produce a high-quality harvest. With good care, the variety will delight you with tasty and healthy fruits for many years.

Last year, 2 varieties were harvested: Reka and Toro. The river was showered with fruits, but they had an inexpressible taste and were fresh. Toro only had 6 berries ripened, but they were very sweet and had a pleasant aroma.

Andrey Kiev region

I planted several Thoreau blueberry bushes on my property. On the advice of neighbors, I acidified the soil with spruce litter, but there was no result: the bushes sat in place and did not develop. When I started watering with acidified water, Toro finally bloomed and produced the first delicious berries!

Elena Krasnodar region