How to apply manure to an apple tree: fertilizing without harm or hassle
Caring for an orchard includes essential fertilization with mineral and organic fertilizers. Today, we'll discuss manure and how to properly use it to nourish apple trees throughout the growing season.
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The need for additional feeding
Apple trees actively bear fruit for about half their lifespan, using up large amounts of nutrients absorbed from the soil. As a result, the soil gradually loses its fertility, which impacts the orchard's yield. Furthermore, the trees become more vulnerable to diseases and harmful insects. To maintain a healthy apple orchard, it is recommended to regularly replenish the nutrients in the soil beneath the trees. This can be accomplished through various mineral and organic fertilizers.
Types of manure for fertilizer
Manure is an organic source of a whole range of micronutrients essential for healthy plant growth and development. It also helps build a fertile soil layer.
Depending on its structure, manure is divided into:
- fresh;
- semi-rotted;
- rotted;
- humus.
Fresh manure is not recommended for use as fertilizer. It contains weed seeds that can easily germinate, and the concentrated composition can burn roots and significantly slow crop growth. Furthermore, it provides an ideal breeding ground for various pests and fungi.
Semi-rotted manure is most often used to prepare liquid fertilizers due to its still high concentration. Therefore, it is not recommended to apply this fertilizer. water The plant is fertilized right down to the roots. The fully rotted organic matter can then be added directly to the soil.
Humus is the most valued organic fertilizer. It is obtained from manure that has rotted under a film. Humus is characterized by:
- lightness and looseness of structure;
- flowability;
- absence of unpleasant odor;
- low specific gravity;
- external similarity with the surface of the soil.
Humus consists of animal waste and plant residues and is very rich in nutrients. Its quality depends on the animal from which the manure was obtained. For example, organic matter obtained from horses decomposes faster and produces more heat. Cow manure produces less heat but has a longer lasting effect. Manure obtained from pigs and small cattle (goats, sheep) is rarely used because it does not have such a rich supply of nutrients. However, bird droppings are used to fertilize plants along with mullein.
The maturation process humus is 1–2 years.
How to prepare manure for fertilizing apple trees
Organic top dressing based on manure, it is applied in both liquid and fresh form.
Spring liquid fertilizer
In spring, when plants especially need nitrogen, apply liquid fertilizer prepared with manure. Fresh cow dung, horse manure, or bird droppings are placed in a container, filled with water at a ratio of 1:3, and left for two weeks, stirring occasionally and piercing the fermented mixture. Before applying, dissolve 1 liter of the manure infusion in 10 liters of water.
To increase the effectiveness of liquid fertilizer, add 200 g of wood ash to each bucket of solution, further enriching the fertilizer with phosphorus and potassium.
To apply the liquid solution, make 10-15 cm deep grooves around the perimeter of the tree crown, where the fertilizer is poured and immediately added.
Depending on the size and age of the apple tree, the consumption rate per tree is from 2 to 8 buckets of solution.
Fertilizing the apple tree with liquid fertilizer is completed with abundant watering.
Autumn organic feeding
Autumn top dressing Apple trees are pruned primarily using potassium and phosphorus fertilizers. Organic matter is added in small quantities to stimulate root growth.
Applying large amounts of nitrogen leads to rapid growth of shoots, which do not have time to strengthen before the onset of frost and die.
Well-rotted manure (3 to 8 kg) is added to deep holes (up to 50 cm) dug around the perimeter of the tree's crown, with 50 g of superphosphate and 30 g of potassium fertilizer added to each hole. Once filled, the holes are covered with soil, and the apple trees are watered generously.
Foliar feeding
In addition to basic fertilizers, apple trees are sprayed with nutrient solutions that are quickly absorbed through the leaf surface. This is also done when signs of micronutrient deficiency are clearly visible. Treated trees experience increased shoot growth, better flowering, and fruit production. Foliar feeding is performed three times during the spring and summer:
- a week after the end of flowering;
- a month after the first;
- 3-4 weeks before harvest.
To prepare a nutrient solution, half a liter mullein Dilute in 10 liters of water with 1 teaspoon of urea added. Shake the solution, strain, and pour into a sprayer. Spray trees in the evening or in cloudy, dry weather.
When foliar feeding, not only the leaves are moistened, but also the trunk and skeletal branches to achieve maximum effect.
Recipes for mixtures for preparing fertilizers
The first spring feedings are the most important for subsequent flowering and fruiting. Their effectiveness depends on how well the nutrient mixtures are prepared.
Early spring root feeding
Fertilizing is carried out from late March to mid-April to provide essential nitrogen to trees awakening from winter dormancy. To prepare a nutrient mixture for one tree, combine five buckets of compost, 0.5 kg of urea, 30 g each of nitroammophoska and ammonium nitrate. The dry fertilizer is scattered around the tree trunk within the crown and raked into the soil. Water the apple tree to ensure the nutrients penetrate deeper into the soil.
Fertilizing before flowering
Fertilizing during budding promotes successful flowering and fruit set, resulting in a higher yield. To prepare a complex mineral-organic fertilizer, dissolve the following in 200 liters of water:
- 10 kg of mullein (5 kg of bird droppings);
- 1 kg of superphosphate;
- 800 g potassium sulfate;
- 500 g urea.
The mixture is left to steep for a week, stirring occasionally. The infusion is then applied to the crown area at a rate of 4 buckets of nutrient solution per tree.
Autumn fertilization with liquid manure
In late September and early October, apple trees are given an additional fertilizing treatment with slurry. Fill a barrel one-third full with manure and top it up with water. Let the mixture sit for three days, stirring occasionally. Before use, dilute the slurry with water at a ratio of 1:5. The resulting solution is poured into the tree trunk circle or a hole dug around the perimeter of the tree crown. After applying the fertilizer, the tree trunk circle mulch to maintain soil moisture.
Fertilizing is an important apple tree care routine that should never be ignored. Not only does it enrich the soil with beneficial nutrients and increase the orchard's yield, but it also strengthens the trees' immune system, helping them survive the winter and resist various diseases and pests.
