VOA慢速英语2011--In the Garden: Growing Blueberries

Agriculture Report - In the Garden: Growing Blueberries

农业报道 - 蓝莓种植

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

Blueberries are generally grown in northern climates with cool winters and mild summers. But some newer varieties do well in very cool or very warm climates.

蓝莓通常生长在北方冬季凉爽夏季温和的气候。但一些新品种也很适应极寒或极温暖气候。

The major kinds of blueberry plants are highbush, half-high, lowbush and rabbiteye. Highbush plants can grow almost two meters tall.

蓝莓主要品种包括高丛，半高丛，矮丛和兔眼蓝莓。高丛蓝莓可以长到近2米高。

Rabbiteye plants like warmer temperatures. Some of these bushes grow three meters tall.

兔眼蓝莓喜好温暖气候，其中一些可以长到3米多高。

Blueberry plants do best in soil that is acidic.

蓝莓在酸性土壤中长势最好。

Plant expert Steve Renquist at Oregon State University says blueberry plants can grow well in containers. He says dwarf 1 varieties are a good choice. These plants are often less than half a meter tall.

俄勒冈州立大学植物专家史蒂夫·伦奎斯特（Steve Renquist）表示，蓝莓也可以种在花盆里，矮丛品种是最好的选择，这类品种高度通常低于半米。

STEVE RENQUIST: "Blueberry plants have a pretty shallow root system. It is not particularly vigorous 3. And so that is why they do well in pots, because of the light soil mixture. But they also require, then, fairly frequent watering because they are going to dry out a little faster. With any plant, a pot dries out faster, the pot does, than any plant that is in the soil.”

伦奎斯特：“蓝莓植物根系极浅，不是特别发达。这就是它们即使土层极薄，也能够在花盆中长势良好的原因。但它们也需要相当频繁地浇水，因为它们干渴得更快。任何植物在花盆中都比在土壤中干渴得更快。”

If you consider growing blueberries at home, you might think about placing some shorter plants in pots. Steve Renquist says potted blueberries should be watered almost every day if temperatures are twenty-one degrees Celsius 4 and above. He says potted blueberry plants should also be given fertilizer.

如果你考虑在家里种植蓝莓，你可以考虑在花盆中种植一些较矮的品种。伦奎斯特表示，如果气温高于21摄氏度，盆栽蓝莓几乎每天都要浇水。他说，盆栽蓝莓还需要施肥。

Blueberry plants do not need a lot of pruning 5. Instead, just a little thinning is needed, or as Steve Renquist puts it, "a stem 2 here and a stem there."

蓝莓并不需要大幅修剪，而只需要稍微修剪得薄一点。或正如伦奎斯特所说的那样，“四处除掉点梗茎。”

STEVE RENQUIST: “We’ve had a number of them growing in our master gardener locations both in the ground and in pots. And we notice that we need to reinvigorate and repot them about every four or five years.”

伦奎斯特：“我们园丁协会所在地就在地里和花盆中种了很多蓝莓。我们注意到大约每四到五年就需要移栽一次使其恢复活力。”

Blueberries are sold fresh, frozen 6 and processed, and used in baked goods and other foods. Major production states include Maine, New Jersey 7, North Carolina and Florida on the East Coast; Michigan in the Midwest; and Oregon, Washington and California on the West Coast.

出售的蓝莓有新鲜的、冷冻的和加工好的，用于烘培食品或其它食品中。蓝莓主要产地包括东海岸的缅因州、新泽西州、北卡罗来纳州和佛罗里达州，中西部地区的密歇根州，西海岸的俄勒冈州、华盛顿州和加利福尼亚州。

Maine produces wild blueberries, but most commercial growers in other states use cultivated highbush plants. The North American harvest runs from the middle of April through early October.

缅因州出产野生蓝莓，但其他州的商业种植户栽种人工培育的高丛蓝莓。北美收获季一直从4月中旬延伸到10月初。

The US Highbush Blueberry Council points out that the blueberry is one of the few fruits native to North America. The United States and Canada are the world's largest producers and consumers of blueberries. But South America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe have also developed highbush blueberry industries. And demand is growing in other markets as well, especially Japan.

美国高丛蓝莓理事会指出，蓝莓是少数原产于北美的水果之一。美国和加拿大是世界上最大的蓝莓生产国和消费国。但南美、澳大利亚、新西兰和欧洲也已经发展蓝莓产业。其他地区的蓝莓市场需求也一直在增长，尤其是日本。

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. For more gardening advice, go to voanews.cn. I'm Karen Leggett.