Comprehensive Adaptability Evaluation of Ten Blueberry Cultivars under Substrate Cultivation Conditions

In order to select excellent blueberry cultivars suitable for substrate cultivation in China’s Yangze River Valley, ten blueberry cultivars that can be cultivated in the open field were used as test materials. The changes in growth, physiological, and fruit quality indexes of the participating cultivars under substrate cultivation were investigated. The results showed that traits varied greatly among cultivars. The correlation analysis showed strong correlation between growth indicators (plant height, crown width, and stem thickness) and physiological indicators of blueberry leaves, such as SPAD, N, Chl a/Chl b, AsA, GSH, and soluble protein. Fruit weight, transverse diameter, soluble solids, total acid, solidity-acid ratio, total phenol, anthocyanin, T-AOC, AsA and GSH indexes all had highly significant positive relationships. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that ‘Brightwell’, ‘Plolific’, ‘Biggold’, ‘Camellia’ and ‘Misty’ ranked in the top five in terms of composite scores and performed better overall. This research can be used to guide the selection of blueberry cultivars for substrate growing in China.