RATIONAL UTILIZATION OF BILBERRY FINDING PLACES IN BULGARIA AND THEIR CULTIVATION

Red-bilberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) are valuable plant species with an wide application in the herb medicine and for the pharmaceutic industry.

The bilberries are one of the most valuable forest berries in Bulgaria and they are an object of gathering from the local people and tourists for their our needs and of economical activity of the Ministry of Forestry and Forest Industry and the Central Co-perative Union. Forest enterprises and cooperations organize compaighs yearly for collecting of the berries, and the quantities gathered are exported. For example for Austria, FRG, Canada, Holland, etc., in 1980 are exported 238 t, in 1981 – 142 t, in 1982 – 349 t and in 1983 – 145 t, as the prevailing part is on the red bilberry.

Gathering and preparing of the bilberry berries are of a good profitableness for the activity of the forest enterprises. In the period 1980–1982 the average profitableness