Essential Role of Potassium in Apple and Its Implications for Management of Orchard Fertilizationстатья
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Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 12 января 2022 г.
Аннотация:K) is of paramount importance for apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), not only for treegrowth and development but also for the size and quality of fruit yield. The apple plant’s demandfor K varies, along with the progression of phenological phases, during the growing season. TheK demand peaks during ripening of fruits featuring relatively high concentration of K comparableto that of the leaves. The mainstream method of apple tree K fertilization is through applicationof the fertilizer to the soils to improve K uptake by the roots. The bioavailability of K depends onassorted various factors, including pH, interaction with other nutrients in soil solution, temperature,and humidity. An important role in making the K from soil available for uptake by plants is playedby plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM), and the specific role of the PGPM is discussed.Advantages of fertigation (the combination of irrigation and fertilization) as an approach includeallowing to balance application rate of K fertilizer against its variable demand by plants during thegrowing season. Excess K in the soil leads to competitive inhibition of calcium uptake by plants.The K-dependent deficiency of Ca leads to its predominant channeling to the leaves and hence to itsdecline in fruits. Consequently, the apple fruits affected by the K/Ca imbalance frequently developphysiological disorders in storage. This emphasizes the importance of the balanced K application,especially during the last months of the growing season, depending on the crop load and the actualK demand. The potential use of modern approaches to automated crop load estimation throughmachine vision for adjustment of K fertilization is underlined.