Department of Pomology, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan 173 230
In 17 years old Golden Delicious apple trees under ‘on’ and ‘off year’ conditions, major amount of mineral nutrients was removed by the harvested fruits followed by pruning wood, whereas abscised flowers, fruitlets and senescent leaves contributed little amount to the total uptake. Trees in ‘on year’ removed 71.6 kg N, 22.7 kg P, 170 kg K, 21.5 kg Ca and kg Mg/ha whereas trees in ‘off year’ conditions removed 15.9 kg N, 3.2 kg P, 27 kg K, kg Ca and 1.8 kg Mg/hectare. This showed that' ‘on year’ trees removed more amount of mineral nutrients than the ‘off year’ trees, indicating that crop load largely determines the nutrient uptake of the trees and should be used as a guide for the fertilization of apple trees.
