Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the orchard floor. For a few trees, hand spreading fertilizer from a small pail
works well.
Whether you are using a large commercial fertilizer spreader or are
sprinkling fertilizer out of a pail, be sure you know how much material you
are applying in a given area. Mark off an area on bare ground or on a parking
lot, measuring it so that you know exactly how much area it covers. Carefully
weigh the fertilizer and apply it across the area, then measure the amount of
fertilizer you have left and calculate how much you applied to that known
area. Keep practicing until you know very closely how much fertilizer you
are applying to a given area in your orchard.
In an orchard, fertilizers can be broadcast across the entire orchard floor
or banded within the tree rows. While both methods have advantages and
disadvantages, the fact is that both work. I prefer to broadcast fertilizers
across the orchard, knowing that the tree roots spread far beyond the rows
and into and beyond the alleys. This strategy is particularly effective in high-
density plantings with narrow alleys. Other fruit growers enjoy good success
concentrating the fertilizers within tree rows. This strategy is particularly ef-
fective when the trees are planted farther apart within and between rows.
To a large degree, the orchard floor management system that you choose
will determine your fertilization practices. In areas with abundant precipita-
tion or ample overhead irrigation, you may choose to plant permanent alley
crops. In drier areas, these permanent alley crops might consist of grasses
that go dormant during the summer to reduce competition with the trees
for moisture. Annual crops, such as cereal grains, can be planted as tempor-
ary alley crops. In arid regions where water for alley crops is unavailable or
prohibitively expensive, you might maintain bare ground between the trees.
With annual or perennial alley crops, you need to address their nutritional
needs, as well as those of the fruit crops. In such cases, broadcasting fertil-
izers can be a good strategy. In a bare ground situation, fertilizers might best
be kept within the drip lines or planting rows of the trees.
