Bank on it: healthy orchards and vineyards withdraw potassium from your soils, so be sure to make a deposit

摘要

There has been increasing interest in potassium (K) fertilization of orchards and vineyards in recent years, and with good reason. A high-yielding orchard or vineyard can remove 100 to 300 pounds of K from the soil every year. Multiply this by 10 or20 years, and it becomes apparent that soils, especially sandy soils, will eventually incur a debt that must be paid. Providing ample K can increase fruit size, even out maturity, and reduce stress. Two decades ago, the accepted method of applying K to permanent crops was to shank K down the tree or vine row during the winter. Two drawbacks to this method are the possibility of salt injury from high amounts of the K materials normally used, and the fact that most soils will tie up K within weeks of application, rendering it unavailable to the roots.