Response of apple trees to soil applications of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at Manjimup Research Station in Western Australia from 1973 to 1982 to determine the optimum rates of fertilizer applications for apple trees (Granny Smith/MM.104 and Hi Early Red Delicious/MM.104) growing in a P-deficient soil (about 6 mg/g bicarbonate-extractable P). The trees were planted at 6.1 multiply 6.1 m spacings. Superphosphate at 5 or 8 kg/tree consistently increased fruit set, but the increase varied from year to year from 8 to 91%. Weight of prunings increased by 24-29% and tree height multiply width by 11-16%. When results were averaged over both cultivars, weight of fruits harvested from 1973 to 1982 was increased from 853 to 1226 kg/tree by superphosphate application at 5 kg/tree. Ammonium nitrate applied at up to 4 kg/tree gave small non-significant increases in growth and no increase in weight of fruits harvested for Granny Smith, but the weight of the Red Delicious crop rose by 11%. No response to potassium chloride at 1 kg/tree was found. P fertilizer application increased P concentration in the first fully mature leaves of Granny Smith trees from approximately 0.14% to 0.17-0.19% and in Red Delicious leaves from 0.17 to 0.20-0.21%. N fertilizer application increased N concentration in Granny Smith leaves from approximately 2.3 to 2.5%. Lack of P was the main limiting factor on growth and cropping and it is suggested that the importance of P nutrition in Western Australian apple orchards has been underestimated.

Response of Mature Phosphorus-Deficient Apple Trees to Phosphorus Fertilization and Liming

“…Under similar soil conditions Wojcik and Klamkowski (2005) were able to increase the number of flower clusters per tree and consequently yield of a greenhouse-grown 'Jonagold' apple trees as a result of pre-plant P fertilization. Bould and Parfitt (1973), Taylor (1975), Waller (1980), Cripps (1987) and Raese (1998) also found that P fertilization of P-deficient apple trees stimulated development of flower buds.…”

“…Of total quantity of absorbed P about one-half may be permanently removed from the orchard system either in the form of fruit or by incorporation into unavailable forms within the tree, while the remainder is recycled within the system (Stiles, 1994). There are, in the literature, some reports indicating that P fertilization of apple trees improved vigor (Raese, 1998;Wojcik and Klamkowski, 2005), flowering and yield (Bould et al, 1972;Bould and Parfitt, 1973;Waller, 1980;Cripps, 1987;Raese, 1998), and fruit quality and storability (Martin et al, 1965;Yogaratnam and Sharples, 1982;Webster and Lidster, 1986;Gomez-Cordoves et al, 1996;Raese, 1998;Li et al, 2004;Tomala and Soska, 2004). The vegetative and reproductive responses of apple trees to P fertilization in those experiments were most frequently related to limited P availability in soil and not to low P status.…”

Annual Bloom-time Phosphorus Fertigation Affects Soil Phosphorus, Apple Tree Phosphorus Nutrition, Yield, and Fruit Quality

“…More recently, several conditions have been identified when apples respond to P fertilization. These include times when apple root length is limited, as when trees are newly planted (Taylor and Goubran, 1975) and when replant disorders further inhibit root growth (Neilsen and Yorston, 1991), or when low soil P levels limit P availability to roots (Cripps, 1987;Raese, 1998). Responses to P application have included increased vigor and accelerated flowering of newly planted trees (Neilsen et al, 1990;Taylor and Goubran, 1975) and increased cropping and increased P concentrations in leaf and fruit tissue of mature trees (Cripps, 1987;Raese, 1998).…”

Changes in Chemical Composition of Australian Waxflowers Due to Soil Applications of Nitrogen and Assessment of Nitrogen Status by Tissue Analysis

“…They found that increasing the rate of applied N from 0 to 200 kg ha À1 increased N concentrations from 7.1 to 7.5 g kg À1 even though yield increased from 0.6 to 1.3 kg plant À1 . For example, Sud and Bhutani [15] reported that increasing the rate of N from 200 to 600 g tree À1 increased leaf N concentration from 21.9 to 27.0 g kg À1 , and Cripps [16] found that N fertilization increased N concentration in Hi Early Red Delicious leaves from 23 to 25 g kg À1 . The magnitude of the increase in plant N concentrations reported in these studies were similar to those shown in Fig.…”