Foliar Applications of Essential Nutrients on Growth and Yield of 'Valencia' Sweet Orange Infected with Huanglongbing

摘要

Huanglongbing (HLB) causes citrus root systems to decline, which in turn contributes to deficiencies of essential nutrients followed by decline of the canopy and yield. This study was conducted on a 6-year-old 'Valencia' [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osb.] on Swingle rootstock (Citrus paradisi Macf. x Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.) trees in a commercial grove near Immokalee, FL, to evaluate the effects of foliar applications of selected essential nutrients (N, K, Mn, Zn, B, and Mg) on growth and productivity of citrus trees infected with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the pathogen putatively associated with HLB in Florida. Mn, Zn, B, and Mg were applied in all experiments to drip at 0x, 0.5x, 1.0x, and 2.0x/spray of what has been traditionally recommended in Florida to correct deficiencies. Treatments were applied foliarly 3x/ year with the sprays occurring during each growth flush for 5 years (2010-14). Thus, the 0x, 0.5x, 1.0x, and 2.0x/spray treatments resulted in 0x, 1.5x, 3.0x, and 6.0x/year to correct deficiencies. MnS0(4) and ZnSO4 were applied with or without KNO3 and in separate experiments were compared with Mn-3(PO3)(2) and Zn-3(PO3)(2), respectively. Disease incidence, foliar nutrient content, canopy volume, and yield were measured. At the beginning of the experiment, foliar N, P, Ca, Mg, Cu, and B were in the sufficient range and K, Mn, Zn, and Fe were slightly low. Disease incidence was very high with 83% and 98% of trees testing positive for CLas in 2010 and 2014, respectively. Nutrients that are not mobile or have limited mobility in plants, namely Mn, Zn, and B, demonstrated an increase in foliar concentration immediately after spray and in the annual averages. Foliar K increased from the deficient to the sufficient level by KNO3 sprays, but the mobile nutrients N and Mg did not show an increase in foliar levels, indicating that intraplant transport occurs in the presence of HLB. Foliar KNO3 application had a stronger effect on growth than yield. Yield was most strongly affected by application of MnSO4 where yield of the 3x/year treatment was 45% higher than that of the unsprayed control, but yield declined by 25% for the 6x/year treatment. Yield within 95% of the maximum occurred with foliarMn concentrations of 70-100 mu g.g(-1) dry weight whenMn was applied as MnSO4, which is at the high end of the traditionally recommended 25-100 mu g.g(-1) dry weight range. The phosphite form of Mn [Mn-3(PO3)(2)] depressed yield by an average of 25% across all application concentrations. Zn, B, and Mg did not significantly impact yield. Canopy volume demonstrated concave relationships across application concentrations for MnSO4 and ZnSO4 without KNO3 and Mn-3(PO3)(2), Zn-3(PO3)(2), Boron, and MgSO4 with KNO3, with the minimum occurring near the 3x/year application concentration. These data indicate a complex interaction in the amount of nutrients applied and their corresponding effects on foliar concentration, growth, and yield for HLB-affected trees. The results of this study at least partially explain the current confusion among scientists and the commercial industry in how to manage nutrition of HLB-affected citrus trees.