ISHS Acta Horticulturae 564: IV International Symposium on Mineral Nutrition of Deciduous Fruit Crops
EFFECTS OF NITROGEN FERTILISATION ON APPLE TREES GROWN IN THREE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS |
| Authors: | D. Wrona, E. Pacholak, S. Svagzdys, A. Sadowski |
| Keywords: | nitrogen, fertilisation, leaf nutrient content, Malus x domestica |
| Abstract:
The experiments were established in autumn 1993 or in spring 1994 in three locations: (a) Warsaw-Wilanów, Central Poland, on alluvial loamy soil; (b) Przybroda near Poznań, Western Poland, on grey-brown podsolic sandy clay and (c) Babtai near Kaunas, Central Lithuania, on grey-brown podsolic loamy clay. ´Šampion´ on M.9 (Wilanów and Przybroda) and ´Sawa´ on M.9 (Babtai) one-year-old unfeathered trees were spaced in Wilanów and Babtai at 3 × 1 m and in Przybroda at 3.5 × 1 m. Herbicide strips (1 m wide) were maintained along tree rows and sward in alleyways. In Wilanów and Przybroda five N fertiliser treatments were applied: (1) N–0, check, without N; (2) N–50, 50 kg N/ha, applied in early spring on the whole soil surface; (3) N–100, 100 kg N/ha, in early spring on the whole surface; (4) N–50+50, 50 kg/ha in early spring + 50 kg N/ha 5 weeks later, on the whole surface; (5) N–50herb, 50 kg N/ha of the herbicides strips only, in early spring. In Babtai only the first four treatments were compared. Ammonium nitrate was used as N fertiliser. Leaf N content increased as a result of fertilisation, reaching the highest values in N–100 and N–50+50 treatments, though in Babtai the differences were not significant and leaf N values were unusually low. A significant effect of N fertilisation on tree size, expressed as TCSA after 6 years (in autumn 1999) was found in Babtai only. ´Šampion´ trees in Wilanów and Przybroda started to bear fruit in the 2nd year (1995) while ´Sawa´ in Babtai gave the first fruit in 3rd year (1996). Significant yield increase resulting from fertilisation was noted in Babtai in the years 1996-1998, in Przybroda in 1997 and in Wilanów in the last year (1999) only. Cumulative yield was higher from fertilised trees only in Przybroda and Babtai. Increase in fruit size as a result of fertilisation was noted only in Przybroda in 1995 and 1998 and in Babtai in 1996 and 1997. | |
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