scholarly journals Beyond-root calcium fertilization of apple trees

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-122
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Słowik ◽  
Dariusz Świetlik

Investigations were performed in the period 1977-1979 on the apple tree cultivar 'Fantazja', on rootstock A 2, M 7 and MM 106 on the effect of spraying with solution containing calcium on the incidence of bitter pit, breakdown, calcium content in the fruit flesh and other features of the fruits. Threefold spraying with calcium nitrate, calcium chloride or Anti-Stipp significantly limited the appearance of bitter pit and breakdown.

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 465-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Lanauskas ◽  
N. Kviklienė ◽  
N. Uselis ◽  
D. Kviklys ◽  
L. Buskienė ◽  
...  

The effects of calcium fertilizers on cv. Ligol apples were studied in the experiment conducted at the Lithuanian Institute of Horticulture in 2007&ndash;2009. Fertilizers were applied four or eight times from June to September on the 8<sup>th</sup>&ndash;9<sup>th</sup> leaf of apple trees on P 22 rootstock. Calcium nitrate or liquid calcium fertilizers were used. The results differed over the years of experiment. During the first year, four applications of liquid calcium fertilizers significantly reduced the Mg/Ca ratio in fruit, whereas in 2008 the tendency of decrease in the ratios of K/Ca and Mg/Ca at both fertilizers was observed. The bitter pit incidence rate on stored apples of the 2007 yield was 1.5&ndash;3.0%. The eight applications of liquid calcium fertilizers significantly reduced the incidence of bitter pit after storage. In 2008, higher fruit calcium content and lower ratios of N/Ca, K/Ca, and Mg/Ca were detected. Moreover, these apples were not affected by bitter pit. The worse fruit quality of the 2007 yield could be linked to the abundant rainfall during 2007 vegetation season. However, the application of fertilizers had a positive effect on natural weight loss and fruit flesh firmness after storage. &nbsp;


1960 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 742 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Martin ◽  
TL Lewis ◽  
J Cerny

When spray treatments were applied to half-trees of Cleopatra apples, it was shown that magnesium nitrate increased the incidence of pit and calcium nitrate decreased it. There was a suggestion that borax decreased the effectiveness of the calcium nitrate treatment. Magnesium or calcium nitrate, with or without borax, did not affect the potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, or nitrogen content of the fruit cortex. Calcium nitrate in 1959 increased the calcium content but magnesium nitrate had no effect. There was no significant difference in the content of potassium, magnesium, or phosphorus between 1958 and 1959, but the calcium content was 3.3 times as high in 1958. Pit incidence was low in 1958 and high in 1959. No significant difference in content of these four elements could be demonstrated between sound and pitted fruits. The results support the view that calcium is the critical element in pit incidence and that magnesium may play an important part.


Author(s):  
T. Kállay ◽  
E. Szűcs

Authors present synthesis of experimental work, performed in the last decades, for better understanding nutritional behaviour of apple trees and related problems in fruit quality. There were evidences supporting possible deteriorating role of potassium in feeble physiological status of apples, if applied in excess. More intensive studies proved that higher potassium uptake into leaves and fruits might be also the result of increased sink power of individual fruits. Nevertheless early senescence of apples during storage and also sensibility to bitter pit were successfully related to the increased sink power of fruits, casual relations in excessive NPK fertilization, although increase in sink power need further investigations. Impaired weather conditions during early development of fruits, hostile orchard practices in pruning, thinning, irrigation and also unskilled application of growth regulators may also contribute in the enhancement of sink power and in weakened physiological status of apple fruits.


1979 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 917 ◽  
Author(s):  
KJ Scott ◽  
RBH Wills

Post-harvest treatment of apples with calcium chloride markedly reduced bitter pit and breakdown in several cultivars during three seasons in Australia and New Zealand. Infiltration of calcium chloride at pressures above or below atmospheric pressure improved the control over that obtained by simple immersion of the fruit in the calcium chloride solution, and was effective in the absence of the usual field sprays of calcium nitrate. These new treatments retained much of their effectiveness when the fruit were afterwards rinsed with water to reduce the risk of injury to the fruit or the grading equipment. The treatments were effective whether the fruit had open or closed calyces, but there were problems of excessive uptake and internal damage with some fruit having an open calyx. Commercial development of the process for closed calyx varieties such as Cox's Orange Pippin or Granny Smith is in progress. For the 3–4 month period required for export, the use of a lower temperature (0° instead of 3°C) improved the control of bitter pit, and a post-harvest calcium treatment reduced the incidence of low temperature breakdown.


2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moeses Andrigo Danner ◽  
Silvia Scariotto ◽  
Idemir Citadin ◽  
Gener Augusto Penso ◽  
Luís César Cassol

ABSTRACTCalcium increases postharvest conservation of apples. Consequently, several calcium foliar sprays are generally applied to apple trees. Due to the low mobility of calcium in the phloem, foliar sprays may have low efficiency to supply calcium in the fruits. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different sources of calcium applied to the soil, compared to the foliar application, on the content of calcium in the soil, leaves and fruits, on yield and fruit quality of ‘Fuji’ apple trees. The following treatments were tested: control, soil application of calcium chloride, gypsum, Nitrabor®, hydrated lime and pulp sludge, and foliar application of calcium chloride. For all sources in the soil, 80 kg of calcium ha-1 year-1 were applied. For the foliar treatment, ten sprays with 0.4 % of calcium chloride were performed. The experiment was conducted in two seasons (2008/2009 and 2009/2010), in a complete randomized blocks design, with four replicates and two apple trees per plot. Even in a soil with high calcium content, the sources of calcium increase the calcium content in the soil and leaves, as well as the firmness of apples stored for 90 days. The use of gypsum and pulp sludge increase the calcium content in the flesh of ‘Fuji’ apples after two successive applications (2009/2010). The sources of calcium applied to the soil can replace the leaf application commonly used in apple orchards, in order to reduce production costs, provided there is no water restriction in the orchard.


Plant Disease ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 86 (7) ◽  
pp. 747-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Blodgett ◽  
R. W. Caldwell ◽  
P. S. McManus

Calcium salts were applied during the growing season to fresh-fruit cranberry beds to test their effects on cranberry fruit rot incidence and the incidence of specific fungi isolated from rotten and sound cranberry fruit at the time of harvest and after storage. Calcium salts did not affect fruit rot incidence, nor did they affect the recovery of specific fungi from berries. The field treatments did not result in higher calcium content in mature berries, nor did they affect the force required to penetrate the berry epidermis. Calcium propionate inhibited growth in vitro of Allantophomopsis cytisporea, A. lycopodina, Coleophoma empetri, Fusicoccum putrefaciens, and Physalospora vaccinii. Calcium chloride and calcium nitrate inhibited growth of Coleophoma empetri and Fusicoccum putrefaciens, but these salts enhanced growth of Physalospora vaccinii. P. vaccinii was the fungus most frequently isolated from rotten berries at the time of harvest. The fungi most frequently isolated from rotten berries after several weeks in storage varied among sites. P. vaccinii, which was common in sound fruit at harvest, persisted in sound fruit in storage but was also isolated frequently from rotten berries after storage. A. lycopodina and F. putrefaciens, which were isolated infrequently from sound berries at the time of harvest, were isolated frequently from rotten berries after storage. In two of four trials, no fungi were isolated from a large proportion of fruit that decayed in storage.


1985 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 305 ◽  
Author(s):  
KJ Scott ◽  
J O'Loughlin ◽  
B England ◽  
EA Roberts

Studies on the control of bitter pit in apples after harvest were conducted during two seasons in Tasmania and New Zealand. The cultivars, Cox's Orange Pippin, Sturmer Pippin, Golden Delicious, Delicious and Cleopatra, which are susceptible to bitter pit on overseas markets, were examined. Bitter pit was reduced and calcium content of the fruit increased, by dipping the fruit in calcium chloride solutions (1-3% w/v). The addition of diphenylamine or the non-ionic wetting agent, Agral 60 (ICI Australia), had little effect on the control of bitter pit or on the calcium content of the treated fruit. Rinsing in water even 1 or 2 days after dipping did not significantly increase the incidence of bitter pit or lower the calcium content of the fruit. There was no difference in the incidence of bitter pit between fruit stored at ambient temperature (15-20�C) or at 3-5�C during the interval between dipping and rinsing. Dipping apples in calcium chloride followed, after 1 or more days, by a water rinse may be suitable commercially for reducing bitter pit in a number of cultivars.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-549
Author(s):  
G. H. Neilsen ◽  
E. J. Hogue ◽  
P. B. Hoyt

Nine years after liming a sandy loam orchard soil to pH 6.0 with calcium hydroxide or dolomitic lime, pH and extractable Ca and Mg were still higher where limed than where unlimed. However, pH had decreased below 5.0 in the limed and N-fertilized plots. Delicious (Malus domestica Borkh.) apple tree nutrition benefited from the two soil amendments. Leaf Mg was increased by dolomite. Leaf Ca was increased by calcium hydroxide. Leaf Mn, although highest in unlimed soils, increased over time for both limed and unlimed soil. Key words: Apple, lime application, reacidification


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