Time and amount of fertilization for citrus

Citrus is a very popular fruit, and its planting area is very large in our country. When we plant citrus, we should pay attention to fertilization, which is the key to meet the growth and nutrition of citrus. When we apply fertilizer, we should first understand the fertilizer characteristics of citrus, control the fertilization time and the amount of fertilizer and so on. Then the editor will introduce the fertilization time and dosage of citrus to you. Let's take a look at it.

1. Characteristics of fertilizer requirement

According to the survey of professional data, when growing citrus, the proportion of nitrogen and potassium fertilizer is the highest for each 1000kg fruit, followed by phosphate fertilizer, and finally calcium and magnesium and other nutrients. Among them, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium should be controlled at about 1: 0.3. The demand for nutrition of citrus will change with the growth stage of citrus. The absorption of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by citrus growth will begin to increase rapidly in spring and reach the peak of demand around June. Then it begins to decline in autumn and stops absorbing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium after winter.

The peak of nutritional demand for citrus trees usually begins in April and lasts until October. If the fertilizer is not applied properly, the harm caused by citrus trees is very great. For example, when the spring buds of citrus trees sprout, if there is too much nitrogen fertilizer, it is easy to lead to the phenomenon of excessive growth of spring shoots and reduce the rate of fruit setting. In the later stage, if there is a surplus of nitrogen fertilizer, then the late autumn shoots will continue to be released, making it impossible for the citrus to survive the winter safely. However, the demand for nitrogen fertilizer is relatively large during the fruit expansion period of citrus. If there is a lack of nitrogen fertilizer at this time, it will aggravate the physiological fruit drop phenomenon, and the quality and yield will be greatly affected.

2. Amount of fertilizer applied

When applying fertilizer to citrus trees, the amount of fertilizer is very important. The fertilization amount of citrus trees should be controlled according to the fruit amount, tree age, variety, soil and other conditions. Under normal circumstances, the average citrus yield per mu is 2500kg. Then the amount of nitrogen fertilizer should be controlled at about 30kg, phosphate fertilizer should be controlled at about 15kg, and potash fertilizer should be kept at 30kg. A reasonable amount of fertilizer application is the key to ensure the normal growth of citrus. Attention should be paid to not applying too much fertilizer to prevent it from being counterproductive.

3. Fertilization time

The time of the first fertilization should be half a month before the spring sprouting or when the spring shoot turns green. Applying too early and too late will have a great impact on the growth and fertilizer efficiency of citrus trees. Then apply strong fruit fertilizer after the citrus stops falling, usually in August every year. The proportion of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in strong fruit fertilizer should be paid equal attention to, especially when the fruit is enlarged, the proportion of potassium should be properly increased to promote fruit expansion and flower bud differentiation. Then, fruit-picking fertilizer was applied before and after fruit picking, and the application time was controlled according to the variety. Early-maturing varieties could be applied at the same time of picking, while late-maturing varieties should be applied one week before fruit picking.

The above is a brief introduction of the time and amount of citrus fertilization. That's all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. I hope it can help you all.