Orchard fertilisation – Dobre Praktyki Rolnicze

Fertilisation of orchards and plantations

The fertilisation strategy for horticultural plants is based on knowledge of the nutritional requirements of the individual plant species, a visual assessment of the plants, and the results of soil and plant tests. According to the above diagnostic criteria, a rational (controlled) fertiliser application effectively increases plant productivity and does not pose a significant threat to the environment. For fertilisation to meet production expectations while not excessively burdening the environment, fertilisers (both mineral and organic/natural) must be applied following specific rules.

Fertilisation with phosphorus, potassium and magnesium according to soil analysis

Fertilisation with the abovementioned nutrients is based on comparing soil analysis results with the P, K, and Mg limit values (table 1). The decision on fertilisation accuracy and application rate is based on the classification of a soil nutrient content into a low, medium, or high fertility class.

Table 1: Limiting values for the contents of phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) in soil and their rates applied before the orchard/plantation establishment and during cultivation (Sadowski et al, 1990)

Specification	Class of abundance
	low	medium	high
	Phosphorus content (mg P kg¹)
For all soils
- topsoil	< 20	20-40	> 40
- subsoil	< 15	15-30	> 30
Fertilisation	Phosphorus rate (kg P₂O₅ h^-1)
- before setting up the orchard	300	100-200	-
- before setting up the plantation	100	100	-
	Potassium content (mg k kg¹)
Topsoil
< 20% of soil clay content	< 50	50-80	> 80
20-35% of soil clay content	< 80	80-130	> 130
< 35% of soil clay content	< 130	130-210	> 210
Subsoil
< 20% of soil clay content	< 30	30-50	> 50
20 - 35% of soil clay content	< 50	50-80	> 80
> 35% of soil clay content	< 80	80-130	> 130
Fertilisation	Pottasium rate (kg k₂O ha^-1)
- before setting up an orchard or a currant or gooseberry plantation	150-300	100-200	-
- before setting up raspberry and strawberry plantations	100-180	60-120	-
- in a fruiting orchard or plantation	80-120	50-80	-
For both soil layers	Magnesium content (mg Mg kg^-1)
< 20% of soil clay content	< 25	25-40	> 40
≧ 20% of soil clay content	< 40	40-60	> 60
Fertilisation	Magnesium rate (g MgO m^-2)
- before setting up the orchard or plantation	Resulting from liming needs		-
- in a fruiting orchard or plantation	12	6	-
	Ratio K : Mg
For all soils, regardless of soil layer	very high	high	valid
	> 6	3.6 - 6.0	3.5

Nitrogen fertilisation by soil analysis

The orchards/plantations nitrogen (N) fertilisation needs can be estimated from the soil organic matter content (Table 2). The N rates given should be regarded as indicative, verifying them with the strength of plant growth and/or the N content of the leaves.

Table 2. Indicative nitrogen (N) application rates in orchards/plantations as a function of soil organic matter

	Soil organic matter content in (%)
Orchard/plantation	0,5-1,5	1,5-2,5	2,6-3,5
	Annual nitrogen application rate
First 2 years of orchard management	15-20*	10-15*	5-10*
First 2 years of currant and gooseberry plantations management	20-25*	15-20*	10-15*
First 2 years of raspberry plantation management	10-12*	8-10*	6-8*
First year of strawberry plantation management
- autumn or spring planting	50-60**	40-50**	20-30**
- early summer planting	30-40**	20-30**	10-20**
Orchards older than 2 years	60-80**	40-60**	20-40**
Currant and gooseberry plantations older than 2 years	100-120**	80-100**	60-80**
Raspberry plantations older than 2 years
- fruiting on two-year stems	60-80**	40-60**	20-40**
- fruiting on one-year old stems	80-100**	60-80**	40-60**
Strawberry plantations in 2nd and 3rd year	40-50**	30-40**	20-30**
* N rates in g m^-2 of fertilised area
** N rates in kg ha^-1 of fertilised area

Liming by soil analysis

The assessment of the lime requirements and the lime rate depend on the pH and soil agronomic category, as well as on the duration of the lime application (Table 3)

Table 3. Maximum lime fertilizers rates applied once in an orchard/plantation (Sadowski et al., 1990)

Soil pH	Soil agronomic category
	Light	Average	Heavy
	CaO rate (kg ha^-1)
< 4.5	1500	2000	2500
4.5-5.5	750	1500	2000
5.6-6.0	500	750	1500

Note: Detailed rules for fertilisation of orchards and plantations are given in the following study.

References: – “Zrównoważone nawożenie roślin ogrodniczych ” – A collective study edited by Dr. Paweł Wójcik – link to the publication – pdf