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Abstract
Nitrification rates and nitrogen (N) recovery by 3 year‐old highbush blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum L. cv. Bluecrop) were compared following applications of ammonium sulfate with or without the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) on a sandy loam soil with pH 4.8. Ammonium sulfate solutions containing 7.9 grams N (10.2 atom % 15N), with or without 0.6 g DCD, were applied to the soil surface beneath bushes. Concentrations of fertilizer derived nitrate were significantly lower in DCD treated soils 2 weeks following application, but DCD had no effect on total nitrate levels or fertilizer derived nitrate later in the season. Uptake of fertilizer‐N by blueberry plants was observed by collecting fruit during the growing season and assessing N partitioning within whole plants at the end of the season using 15N as a label for fertilizer N. The DCD had no effect on fertilizer derived or total N levels in plants. Plants recovered an average of 3% of applied N by the end of the season.