Management strategies for fertigation of sweet cherry

Transcription

1 Management strategies for fertigation of sweet cherry Denise Neilsen and Gerry Neilsen Summerland Research and Development Centre, Summerland, BC, Canada V0H 1Z0 MCAREC Sweet Cherry Symposium, Feb. 4 th, 2016 Dalles, OR, USA

2 Changes in production systems sweet cherry Mazzard, F12/1 rootstock, 6m x 6m Gisela 5,6 rootstock, m x 4-5m

3 Root length (km/m 2 ) Tree fruits have very small but efficient root systems Root length density at crop maturity Min Max 0 Apple Kiwifruit Peach Pear Sweet (from Buwalda 1993) Cherry Length of root per area of soil surface (cm/cm 2 ) 10, herbaceous grasses herbaceous Non-grasses woody plants 1 tree fruits

4 Increasing tree density gives more water & nutrient management options

5 Why use fertigation Compact root systems and micro-irrigation offer good opportunities for controlled application of nutrients Precision nutrition can reduce inputs and improve fruit quality In irrigated production systems - water management controls nutrient availability

6 Fertilizer Sources Can use most N sources except Pressure solutions or anhydrous ammonia since they raise water ph and precipitate calcium. Cannot use calcium nitrate with phosphates or sulfates. Can use KCl, KNO 3, K 2 SO 4. Chelates of micronutrients: Zn, Fe, Mn.

7 Avoid these Combinations! Phosphates and calcium (unless ph < 4). Mg added to Ca or ammonia unless acidic. Ammonium thiosulfate in acid or basic solutions. Urea Sulfuric Acid and UAN. Micronutrients and phosphates unless: At least 45% polyphosphate, micros are chelated or the solution is acidic. Commercial MAP and DAP in a solution. If in doubt do a compatibility test outside of irrigation system!!

8 Nitrogen very mobile in soil and water allows flexibility in application but difficult to control

9 Nitrogen when to apply?

10 Sources of N for growth N removed in fruit and pruning? N stored in leaves N withdrawn from leaves N remobilized for new growth Internal N cycling N stored in woody tissue N removed in pruning

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12 Leaf N (%dw) Contribution of winter storage N and C to tree performance in sweet cherry N2 N1 Harvest Lapins/Gisela5 Leaf strip (Sept 15) N withdrawal to storage 0 Jul Aug Sep Oct 2004

13 Fruit number Yield (kg/tree) Contribution of winter storage N + C to production in sweet cherry Lapins/Gisela5 Fruit Number Yield leaf stripping decreased fruit number & yield fruit bud development/set highly dependent on stored N + C 0 no yes no yes no yes no yes 0 Leaf stripping Leaf stripping in Fall 2004

14 Fruit number Yield (kg/tree) Contribution of winter storage N + C to production in sweet cherry Lapins/Gisela5 Fruit Number Yield leaf stripping decreased fruit number & yield fruit bud development/set highly dependent on stored N + C 0 no yes no yes no yes no yes 0 Leaf stripping Leaf stripping in Fall 2004

15 sap flow ml/cm 2 TCSA Timing of sap flow in the spring 200 Sap flow side green green tip tight cluster open cluster first white first full bloom Day of the year Sap flow Sap flow water uptake starts around first white in sweet cherry Likely determines onset of rapid N uptake Granier type thermal dissipation probe

16 Nitrogen - How much?

17 N removal in cherry fruit Cv/rootstock N inputs kg/ha Spacing (m) Age (yr) N removal kg/ha Skeena/Gi6 42 2x4 5 ~30 Cristalina/Gi6 42 2x4 7 ~45 Lapins/Gi5 30 4x ~20 *Skeena/Gi x4 4 ~20 *Skeena/Gi x4 4 ~20 *Skeena/Gi x4 4 ~11 *UFO

18 Nitrogen too much of a good thing? Lapins/Gi5 experiment Fertigation treatments N (8 weeks daily post full bloom) 1. Low (42 ppm) ~63 kg/ha 2. Medium (84 ppm) ~126 kg/ha 3. High (168 ppm) ~ 254 kg/ha

19 TCSA (cm 2 ) Yield (kg/tree) Tree growth- Lapins/Gisela a Low N Medium N High N a b **** *** Low N Medium N High N Very high N decreased tree growth and yield Neilsen et al HortScience 42

20 Fruit size-lapins/gisela 5 N rate g/fruit Low Medium High ns * * ** ns ** N Rate: Low ~ 63 kg/ha; Medium ~126 kg/ha; High ~ 254 kg/ha Neilsen et al HortScience 42

21 55 cm How precise can we be? Measurement of water and nutrient leaching using PCAPs (wick samplers) 75 cm Drip emitter M/S 25 cm 50 cm Surface of PCAP sampler box

22 N loss (g/tree) Water loss (L/tree) Neilsen et al HortTechnology 12 Water and N drainage reduced by irrigation scheduling in Gala/M b a Scheduled to meet ET Unscheduled (fixed rate) b a fertigation period b a May June July Aug. Sept. Oct-May May b a water losses high under unscheduled irrigation during periods of low ET water and N losses related during fertigation period irrigation scheduling keeps N in the root zone

23 Summary N Good N management depends on increasing N availability by Retention of N in root zone using good water management practice Timing applications to demand post bloom for root uptake and fall foliar N to augment winter storage Cherry and apple trees can require relatively small N inputs

24 Phosphorus and potassium Much less mobile than N Spatially targeted applications required

25 Phosphorus effects on sweet cherry Fertigated P (20g P as ) Increased cumulative yield over 3 years Increased fruit size 1 year in 3 Increased stem pull force 2 years in 3 Reduced soluble solids 2 years in 3

26 Summary P Mobility and availability of P can be improved by fertigation immediately after bloom P availability can also be increased by the use of organic amendments and mulches P applications increased yield and fruit quality in several apple and sweet cherry cultivars

27 Fruit K (mg/100g FW) Leaf K (%) Leaf and fruit K - Lapins/Gisela ** *** * ** *** LEAF ** *** **** **** FRUIT **** **** K fertigation (microsprinkler) did not affect leaf or fruit K conc. (data not shown) Leaf and fruit K reduced under drip irrigation, likely due to soil K leaching and restricted roots Drip Microsprinkler Neilsen et al HortScience 42

28 Summary K Coarse textured soils under drip irrigation can develop K deficiency Mobility and availability of K can be improved by fertigating K in a number of different formulations K applications under conditions where soils are approaching deficiency do not increase susceptibility to bitter pit in apples

29 Leaf B (ppm) Leaf B concentration in apple in response to application method Gala Fuji Fiesta Spartan No B applied a b c d a a b b B sprayed g B/tree/year a b a b B fertigated a b a b g B/tree/year a b c b a b c b Year 30

30 NC-140 Sweet Cherry Project - Nutrition Nutrient Form Application duration Application rate (g/tree) N Daily 6 weeks after bloom 16.5g N/tree 27.5 kgn/ha P One day after bloom 20g P g N/tree 33 kgp kgn/ha K Daily for 6 weeks starting 4 weeks after bloom B Solubor (20.3% B) Daily for 6 weeks starting 4 weeks after bloom 20g K /tree 33 kg K/ha 0.17gB/tree 0.28 kg/ha

31 Thank you