Temprate Fruits (1+1)

EXERCISE 15

EXERCISE 15: Manuring and fertilization of temperate fruit crops

• The temperate fruit trees like other plants remove large quantities of mineral elements from soil for growth, development and fruit production.
• Fruit trees being perennial stay in soil for a number of years and continuous removal without adequate replenishment of these elements cause partial or complete depletion of available nutrients in the soil. This lag causes reduction both in rate and amount of uptake of these nutrients, growth and productivity of plants.
• It is, therefore, obvious that a fruit grower needs to replenish these nutrients externally through the application of manures and fertilizers.
• But each type of fruit species has its own nutrient requirement, so the doses of manures and fertilizers also varies. This will also vary with the inherent capacity of soil to supply nutrients
• Under average conditions of the soils of the orchards, the recommended doses of manures and fertilizer are given in the table.

Objectives :

i) To acquaint the students with different types of fertilizers
ii) To know the fertilizer and manure requirements for different fruit species, their time of application and method of application

Material : FYM, Fertilizers, Spade, Basket and Weighing balance

Methods of application

• For efficient uptake and utilization of nutrients, the method of application of fertilizers to the soils plays an important role.
• Method depends upon the age of the plant, type of fertilizers and gradient of orchards.
• The fundamental methods of fertilizers to orchard soil are; broadcasting and placement of fertilizers in bands, strips and basins.
• When the land is flat and, fruit trees have grown large and their roots have occupied the entire space, the broadcasting method can be followed.
• The fertilizers are well mixed in the soil and light irrigation is given. Trees with basins, require basin application. In sloppy orchards the fertilizers can be applied by band or dibbling so that the fertilizers and not eroded.
• In sloppy land, the phosphate fertilizers should be applied in holes. Care should be taken while making holes/bands that roots are not damaged.
• The fertilizers are applied at least 30cm to 60 cm away from the stem depending upon the age of the plant.

Table 1: Recommended fertilizers schedule for Pome fruits in Himachal Pradesh

Age of the tree(year)	FYM (kg)	N (g)	CAN (g)	P2O5 (g)	SSP (g)	K2 O (g)	MOP (g)
1	10	70	280	35	220	70	115
2	20	140	560	70	440	140	230
3	30	210	840	195	660	210	350
4	40	280	1120	140	880	280	470
5	50	350	1400	175	1100	350	585
6	60	420	1680	210	1320	420	700
7	70	500	1960	245	1540	500	820
8	80	560	2240	280	1760	560	935
9	90	630	2520	315	1980	630	1050
10 and above	100	700	2800	350	2000	700	1170
Off year	100	500	2000	250	1560	400	670

Table 2. The manure and fertilizer schedule for Stone fruits in HP.

Age of tree (yr.)	FYM (kg)	N (g)	P2O5 (g)	K2O (g)
1	10	70	35	100
2	15	140	70	200
3	20	210	105	300
4	25	280	140	400
5	30	350	175	500
6	35	420	210	600
7 & above	40	500	250	700

Table. 3. Doses of manures and fertilizers and their time of application

Fruit plant	Age of plant (years)	FYM	Doses of fertilizers (g/plant)
		(kg / plant)	CAN (25% N)	SSP (16%P2O5)	MOP (60% K2O)
Pome fruits (apple and pear)	Per year of age	10	280	220	115
	10 years and above	100	2800	2200	1150
Stone fruits (peach, plum, apricot) almond and cherry	Per year of age with increment of five years	10	280	220	165
	7 years and above	40	2000	1560	1200
Kiwifruit	Per year of age with increment of 8 FYM	10	400	450	350
	8 and above	80	3200	3600	2800
Nuts	Per year of age with increment of 5 FYM	10	2 Kg NPK mixture fertilizer (15:15:15)
	16 and above	100	8 kg NPK mixture fertilizer

CAN = Calcium Ammonium Nitrate, SSP = Single Super Phosphate, MOP = Muriate of Potash

Time of application

• In temperate fruits, apply all FYM, SSP and MOP during December after pruning.
• Apply half dose of CAN 2-3 weeks before flowering and remaining dose one month after the first application or just after fruit set.

Methods of Application

• Method of application depends up on age of the plant, type of fertilizers and gradient of the orchard. The fundamental methods of fertilizer application to the orchard soils are; broadcasting and placement of fertilizers in bands, strips and basins.

Broadcasting Method:

• It is a cheapest method and consists of spreading the fertilizers uniformly over the entire floor of orchard, where the fruit plants have grown to large size and their roots have occupied the entire space in the orchard.

Basin Method:

• In this method, the manure and fertilizers are applied in the basins of the fruit trees. This method is applied when the plants are young and/or basins have been prepared.

Band Method:

• The placement of fertilizers is made in bands or trenches around a tree. Care is taken to avoid root injury while digging the bands or trenches. The method is followed in orchards with steep slope and when the fertilizers are applied in small quantity.