Damages of Young Persimmon Tree as Affected by Application of Immature Liquid Pig Manure

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Liquid pig manure (LPM) has been used as an alternative for conventional fertilizers on some gramineous crops. However, its chemical properties varied widely depending on the degree of the digestion. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the responses of persimmon trees to immature (not well-digested) LPM application. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ten application levels of immature LPM, consisted of a total of 3 to 30 L in 3-L increment, were applied during summer to 5-year-old 'Fuyu' trees grown in 50-L pots. Increasing the LPM application rate caused defoliation, wilting, and chlorosis in leaves. When applied with the rate of 3 L during summer, the tree produced small fruits with low soluble solids and bore few flower buds the following season, indicating insufficient nutritional status. In trees applied with the LPM rates of 6∼12 L, both fruit characteristics and aboveground growth of the trees appeared normal but some roots were injured. However, application of higher LPM rates than 27 L resulted in small size, poor coloration, or flesh softening of the fruits the current season. Furthermore, the high LPM rates caused severe cold injury in shoots during winter and weak shoot growth the following season. It was noted that the application of higher LPM rate than 9 L damaged the root, even though above-ground parts of the tree appeared to grow normally. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that an excessive immature LPM application could cause various injuries on leaves, fruits, and the roots in both the current and the following season.