TECHNICAL
A fruiting orchard – in a designed irrigation system, irrigation water is mixed with soluble fertilisers to enhance crop production
Fertigation in orchard production When it comes to orchard production, fertilisation and irrigation are the two most important management factors. With advances in technology, fertigation, a technique used to apply fertilisers to plants via irrigation was developed. In a designed irrigation system, irrigation water is mixed with soluble fertilisers to enhance crop production. By Joachim Nachmansohn It is an effective and flexible method as it enables the placement and timing of the nutrient application to be controlled. The appropriate nutrients can be applied in relation to the fertility status of the soil as well as the growth stage of the crops. This has been made more effective by using specialty fertilisers and biostimulants. Specialty fertilisers are water-soluble solid fertilisers that release nutrients gradually to plants over a certain period while minimising the possibility of nutrient loss. These are then complemented with slow or control release products, stabilised, customised, fortified, and liquid or chelated fertilisers (organically enhanced nutrients for
64
The ORCHARDIST : MARCH 2021
optimised uptake). Biostimulants are used in fertigation as activators to enhance the uptake and efficiency of nutrients by plants, but are not nutrients themselves. Think of them as catalysts in a reaction process; in most cases, they are microorganisms or extracts of organic materials such as seaweeds or humic substances (organic compounds). They are used to stimulate the natural processes that benefit the crop such as tolerance to stress and improved crop yield and quality. Humic acids, seaweed extracts like kelp and beneficial bacteria and fungi are a few examples of popular biostimulants. This article focuses on how using fertigation with specialty fertilisers and biostimulants is key in modernising orchard production.
