Fertilizer scheduling is the process of determining when to give fertilizer and how much of fertilizer to be applied. Scientific fertilizer scheduling is a technique providing knowledge on correct time and optimum quantity of fertilizer application at each stage to optimize crop yields with maximum fertilizer use efficiency and at the same time ensuring minimum damage to soil properties.

1. “Recent Advances in the Methods of
Fertilizer Scheduling in Temperate Fruits”
Dr. Jahangeer Ahmad Baba

2. Definition
Fertilizer scheduling is the process of determining
when to give fertilizer and how much of fertilizer
to be applied

3. ➢ Location
➢Soil condition
➢tree age
➢tree size
➢Fruit yield
➢Soil moisture regime
➢other cultural practices
Criteria for formulating fertilizer schedule

4. Why there is need of Fertilizer scheduling?
➢ To increase the yield
➢Reduce costs/unit production
➢Establish newly installed plants.
➢Promote root and shoot growth.
➢Enhance flowering and fruit set.
➢Correct or prevent nutrient deficiencies.
➢Improve quality of produce
➢Avoid environmental pollution

5. Importance of fertilizer scheduling
Scientific fertilizer scheduling is a technique providing knowledge
on correct time and optimum quantity of fertilizer application at
each stage to optimize crop yields with maximum fertilizer use
efficiency and at the same time ensuring minimum damage to soil
properties.
✓Is fertilizer potential utilized vis-a-vis potential created ?
✓ Is return on agricultural production & productivity achieved ?
✓ Is fertilizer being efficiently applied (managed) ?
✓ Is there improvement or deterioration in land development (due to
toxicity, salinity / alkalinity) ?

6. Causes of low fertilizer use efficiency
Sharma, 2012

7. There are five (5) critical aspects of importance for nutrition
of fruit plants:
➢Which elements are required by the plant
➢What is the function of each element
➢Physiological stage when the element is mostly required
➢When to fertilize
➢How much fertilizer is to be applied
Nutrition of fruit crops

8. Important macro elements
(required in higher amounts)
The elements which are most important
Important micro elements
(required in small amounts)
Carbon C
Hydrogen H
Oxygen O
 From air and water

9. Soil reaction
Degree of soil acidity or alkalinity
– Affects nutrient availability
– Affects plant functioning
Soil pH
Acidic Alkaline
“A soil may be fertile but cannot
be productive”

10. Law of the Minimum
Ju stu s vo n Lie b ig ,
g e n e ra lly cre d ite d a s
th e "fa th e r o f th e
fe rtilize r in d u stry",
fo rm u la te d th e la w o f
th e m in im u m :
“if o n e cro p n u trie n t is
m issin g o r d e ficie n t,
p lan t g ro w th w ill b e
poor, even if the other
elements are abundant”

11. Fertilizer
Scheduling Fertility assessment
Various assesment
methods

12. Methods of nutrient assesment

13. 1. Visual symptoms
Based on: Observation of shoot growth, leaf coloration, yields
and fruit quality may provide clues to underlying fertility
problems
Limitations:
1. Although a reduction in shoot growth or yellowing of leaves
could be caused by a nutrient deficiency, other factors like
winter injury or drought may be responsible.
2. Another major drawback in relying on this method of
assessing nutrient needs is that the problem is already there
and production has likely been suffering for some time prior
to the symptoms becoming obvious.

14. * Symptoms refer to deficiency unless otherwise stated.
** Symptoms of sulfur deficiency usually occur on upper leaves first, but a general
yellowing of the entire plant may occur under prolonged deficiency conditions.

15. Index point Low N Normal N High N
Terminal growth < 4 inches 4-12 inches 12-20 inches
Leaf size Small and thin Medium to average Large and thick
Leaf colour
Uniform pale/
yellow green
Normal green Very dark green
Leaf drop Early Normal time late
Fruit size Small Normal large
Fruit maturity Early Normal 5-10 days late
Visually Judging the N Status of Fruit Trees

16. 2. Soil testing
Soil tests can provide valuable information about soil pH
and organic matter while giving some indication of
nutrient availability.
Unfortunately there is not always a very good
relationship between soil test results and yield and plant
performance. Soil tests are most useful when taken
before the establishment of an orchard.
Behavior of carryover is unpredictable – can
make analyses invalid
 Leaching Climate
 Denitrification Mineralization

17. 3. Plant analysis
Provides the best measure of tree fruit nutritional health. Compare the levels of the nutrients in
the table below with those of nutrient analysis report. If nutrient levels fall within these
sufficiency ranges, maintain the current fertility program. If the foliar nutrient levels do not fall
within these ranges, use either the soil applied or foliar nutrient application recommendations
[Bright, 2005]
Crop
Nutrient %
or ppm
Deficient Low range
Normal
range
High
range
Excess
Apple N % < 1.6 1.6-1.9 2.0-2.4 2.5-3.0 >3.0
Pear N % <1.8 1.8-2.2 2.3-2.7 2.8-3.5 >3.5
Apple & pear
P % <0.10 0.10-0.14 0.15-0.20 0.21-0.30 >0.30
K % <0.8 0.8-1.0 1.1-1.5 1.6-2.0 >2.0
Ca % <0.7 0.7-1.0 1.1-2.0 2.1-2.5 >2.5
Mg % <0.18 0.18-0.24 0.25-0.35 0.36-0.50 >0.50
B ppm <15 15-19 20-60 61-200 >200

18. Influence of Nitrogen supply on fruit size of apple cultivar ‘Gala’
[Cheng, 2007]

19. 4. Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System
(DRIS)
The is a method of nutritional diagnosis of plants based on an
index calculation for each nutrient, considering its relation
with the other nutrients, and comparing each relation with
average relations of a reference population.
[Gilmar, 2007]

20. [Qayum, 2012]
Nutrient expression Norm value C.V (%) F-value
N 2.19 12.11 NS
P 0.193 22.92 **
K 1.62 11.89 **
Ca 1.58 12.64 **
Mg 0.30 25.27 NS
S 0.20 24.81 NS
Fe 158.80 11.97 NS
Zn 38.56 18.95 *
Cu 10.38 33.20 NS
Mn 97.30 24.66 *
B 33.93 18.28 *
N/K 1.38 17.14 *
N/Ca 1.42 15.97 **
N/S 11.93 29.56 NS
N/Mn 0.025 36.40 **
N/B 0.07 19.84 **
P/N 0.09 19.56 **
P x K 0.32 22.52 **
P x Ca 0.31 29.93 **
Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS) norms for apple
Macronutrients are expressed in per cent on dry weight basis;
Micronutrients are expressed in ppm on dry weight basis;
* Significant at 5% level of significance; ** Significant at 1% level of significance

21. Capture
Data
5. GIS Process
Register
Map Base
Interpret
Data
Convert
Data to Digital
Format
Store Data
in Computer
Process
Data
Display
Results
An Information System consisting of a set of processes,
executed on raw data to produce information which will be
useful when making decisions.

22. GIS technology
In past generations, farmers tended to spread
fertilizer evenly over the entire field. Now,
thanks to geospatial technology, spreading
methods can be more exact by type, quantity, and
location of application. The computerized
controllers and GPS navigation systems is an
approach to farming that is both friendly to the
environment and profitable for the farmer.
in Newzealand by using GIS and GPS to guide the
application of fertilizers, farmers are decreasing
the amount of wasted resources that can
potentially cause harmful runoff into streams and
waterways. At the same time, they are reducing
their total fertilizer expenditure by up to 10
percent per year.

23. GIS - Map Stacking
Geographic
Information
System
Aerial Image
from satellite
pH Layer
N Availability Estimate
from Aerial Photo

24.  When applying fertilizer is likely to give you the
desired response:
– Add only those nutrients needed.
– Apply micronutrients at specified rates and times
to achieve fertilization objectives.
 When nutrients are limiting growth
– Observations
– Soil test
When to Apply

25. Uptake of different elements by grape vine during the season
Growth stage
Nitrogen
(N) %
Phosphorus
(P) %
Potassium
(K) %
Calcium
(Ca) %
Magnesium
(Mg) %
Bud break to fruit set 24.2 30.8 41.4 33.3 36.4
Fruit set to berry
softening
37.5 26.8 30.1 55.5 36.1
Berry softening to
harvest
5.0 2.0 9.0 7.4 12.8
After harvest 33.3 40.4 19.5 3.8 14.7
Total 100 100 100 100 100
[Andrew, 2012]

27. How much fertilizer to apply
Depends on a number of factors:
1. Plant type
2. Plant age
3. Plant vigour
4. Plant variety
5. Density of orchard
6. Nutrient status of soil

28. Fertilizer schedule for apple and pear recommended by
SKUAST-K
Age in
years
Nutrients g/tree Fertilizer g/tree
N P2O5 K2O Urea DAP MOP
1 28 11 50 50 25 80
5 139 57 251 250 125 400
10 416 170 735 750 375 1150
15 & Above 832 340 1503 1500 750 2500
➢1/3rd urea + full DAP + ½ MOP dose should be applied 3 weeks before
expected bloom as basal dose
➢1/3rd urea + remaining MOP should be applied 3 weeks after fruit set
➢Remaining 1/3rd urea should be applied in June–July
[package of practices for temperate fruits, 2011]

29. Age in years Quantity (Kg) Time of application
1-5 10-15
February - March
6-10 15-25
11-15 25-40
16 & above 40-60
Mix biofertilizers like Azotobacter, PSB or AMF@ 1.0 g/kg FYM to improve FUE
Methods to overcome some nutritional deficiencies
Element Chemical Concentratio
n (%)
Dosage
g/litre
Frequency
Boron Boric acid 0.15 1.5 1-2 sprays at 2-
3 weeks interval
Zinc Zinc sulphate 0.5 5.0 -do-
Calcium Calcium chloride 0.3 3.0 2 sprays at 2-3
weeks interval
Manganese Manganese sulphate 0.4 4.0 1-2 sprays at 2-
3 weeks interval
Organic Manure (fully decomposed FYM)

30. Fertilizer Requirements by Variety:
Apples can generally be divided into “low N” and “high N” requirement
groups.
Low Nitrogen requirement Varieties (1.8-2.2%)
Gala Jonathan Jonagold Gravenstien McIntosh
Golden Delicious Crispin Starr Ginger old Tydeman Red
High Nitrogen requirement Varieties (2.2-2.4%)
Jonathan Golden Delicious Liberty Rome Red Delicious
Rome Beauty York Imperial Honey Crisp Granny Smith Empire
[Spectrum Analytic, 2012 ]
Golden Delicious and Jonathan are listed in both N regimes, this is due to
a conflict in the variety listings published by different states.

31. Element
Organ
Fruits Roots Stem Leaves Shoots Total
N 35.8 14 4.7 31.1 14.4 100 (3.89)
P 34.2 11.4 2.7 39.8 11.9 100 (0.72)
K 64.8 2.5 3.7 15.4 13.6 100 (3.05)
Ca 8.4 1.2 5.7 69.8 14.9 100 (2.01)
Mg 14.9 7.6 4.9 53.9 18.7 100 (0.60)
Distribution of most important elements in the organs of the vine for the
production of 1 ton of grapes (%)
(Value in brackets after total is absolute total in kg) [Andrew, 2012]

32. Treatments
Fruit size
(cm)
Fruit dia
(cm)
Fruit weight
(g)
Fruit yield
(kg)
Control 3.20 d 4.00 d 98.90 c 57.14 d
500 g N/tree 4.22 c 4.67 c 61.99 d 63.00 c
600 g N/tree 4.22 c 5.08 b 123.89 b 85.61 b
700 g N/tree 5.06 b 4.79 c 141.36 a 68.20 c
800 g N/tree 6.00 a 6.82 a 150.75 a 91.69 a
LSD 0.29 0.352 11.939 3.039
Physical characteristics of apple as influenced by application of
different doses of nitrogen fertilizers
[Iqbal et al., 2012]

33. Fertilizer requirement of high density orchards

34. Approximate Grams of Actual Nitrogen Required per Tree at Various Tree Densities
and Tree Ages, Growing in Sod
In: Apples 2012-13

35. ❖ Soil conditions prevent nutrient uptake
❖ Small amounts of nutrients are needed which
makes ground application inefficient
❖ Nutrients are not mobile in the tree
❖ Visual deficiency symptoms
❖ Nutrient needs are met fast
❖ Application is profitable because
less labour required
When does foliar nutrition make sense?

36. Growth stage
Fruit retention
(%)
Average fruit
weight (g)
Number of
fruits/ tree
Fruit yield
(kg /tree)
T1= 0.1 % H3BO3 57.19 45.19 396.98 17.93
T2= 0.5 % ZnSO4.7H2O 57.32 45.45 414.42 18.83
T3= 0.5 % FeSO4. 7H2O 60.03 47.25 412.25 19.49
T4= T1 + T2 65.96 48.89 477.53 23.54
T5= T1 + T3 71.80 49.59 485.45 24.07
T6= T2 + T3 50.84 45.02 468.02 21.07
T7= T1 + T2+ T3 74.14 51.60 492.00 25.39
T8= Water spray
(Control)
42.02 43.49 385.08 16.74
CD at 5% 5.33 0.42 6.84 0.07
Yadav et al., 2013
Response of foliar fertilization of micronutrients on fruit yield of low-chill peach
cv. Sharbati