Stone Fruit: Postharvest Soil Care

摘要

AFTER harvest, resist the temptation to apply the proverbial "ton-of-gyp-to-the-acre" regardless of the soil's actual needs. If sodium is a problem, determine its origin and amount relative to other ions in the soil. In saline soils, salts can be leached with sufficient quantities of water Salinity appears on the soil analysis as a high electro-conductivity (ECe). Shoot growth and fruit size may decrease and trees may look water-stressed even when soils appear to have sufficient moisture. As ECe levels rise to 2 or higher, leaf burn or tip dieback will occur. Under these situations, apply irrigations in excess of the trees' leaching requirement, so that salts can be flushed below the root zone. About a 15% leaching fraction will remove the salts.