ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the effects of light, temperature, and water on the growth and development of commercially important Vaccinium and Rubus species. Blueberries and cranberries are in the family Ericaceae and the genus Vaccinium which contains about 400 species of shrubs, woody vines and small trees. Blueberries, cranberries, and red raspberries are small fruits encompassing a range of species that are distributed worldwide. L. E. Aalders and his colleagues found that the fruit development period was lengthened and fruit sugar content decreased in lowbush blueberry by decreasing irradiance level. High levels of ultraviolet UV-B radiation had no consistent effect on fruit number or berry weight in rabbiteye blueberries. Species within Vaccinium encompass a wide array of chilling requirements, from the low chilling rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberry to the high chilling cranberry and northern highbush blueberry. Irrigation of highbush blueberry bushes has been used sporadically in most long-established plantings but is becoming more common in new plantings.
