ESTIMATION OF SWEET CHERRY FERTILIZER REQUIREMENTS BY THE SZŰCS’ METHOD VARIES BY CULTIVAR

A problem that fruit growers often face is the determination of fertilizer quantities to apply to achieve high yields of high quality fruit without impacting eco-environmental issues negatively.
Consequently, although it is very important to know the quantity of macronutrients extracted from the orchard soil, this alone is not sufficient to determine the best amount of fertilizer for annual applications.
Among the most reliable and effective solutions is use of the Szűcs algorithm.
The algorithm considers many parameters, including the quantity of mineral elements removed from the orchard, leaf mineral diagnosis, and physical and chemical characteristics of the soil.
For this study, the Szűcs algorithm was applied to data from a sweet cherry orchard to calculate the quantity of N, P₂O₅ and K₂O in kg^-1 ha^-1 yr^-1 to be supplied by means of mineral fertilization to seven sweet cherry varieties grown in southern Italy.
The quantities to be replaced varied greatly by cultivar, and the difference seems to be related both to the yield and leaf mineral composition.

V International Cherry Symposium

V. Ughini, A. Roversi

Prunus avium, yield, leaf mineral content, foliar reference level, soil analysis, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.795.118