Crockett, S. P.

Gholston, L. E.

Overcash, J. P.

English

Scholars Junction - Mississippi State University Institutional Repository

Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Bulletins Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) 12-1-1961 Influence of annual fertilizer applications on a peach orchard soil J. P. Overcash S. P. Crockett L. E. Gholston Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/mafes-bulletins Recommended Citation Overcash, J. P.; Crockett, S. P.; and Gholston, L. E., "Influence of annual fertilizer applications on a peach orchard soil" (1961). Bulletins. 507. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/mafes-bulletins/507 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Bulletins by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact scholcomm@msstate.libanswers.com. BULLETIN 633 DECEMBER 1961Influence OfAnnual Fertilizer ApplicationsOn A Peach Orchard SoilJ. P. OvercashS. P. CrockettL. E. GholstonMISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITYAGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONHENRY H. LEVECK, DirectorSTATE COLLEGE MISSISSIPPIConclusions1. Annual applications of su{^rphos-phate at the rate of 6 pounds of 20%superphosphate under mature SullivansEarly Elberta peach trees resulted in in-creases in phosphorus in the soils at adepth of 0 to 6 inches.2. Under very heavy rates of annualapplication the available phosphorus wassignificantly higher than the check treesto a depth of 12 to 1^ 'nches.3. Trees which received no phosphatefertilizer had analyses of 5 to 25 poundsof P2O5 equivalent per acre. These treesdid not grow or yield as well as treeswhich received phosphate fertilizer andhad higher phosphorus analyses in theirsoils.4. Annual applications of 1 1/2 poundsof 50% muriate of potash to mature treesresulted in a large increase in exchange-able potassium in the soil at 0- to 6-inchdepth.5. Potassium analyses of less than 150pounds per acre were typical for soils notreceiving potash. Analyses of over 400pounds per acre resulted from annual ap-plications of potash,6. Three times the rale of potash ap-plication mentioned above resulted inmovement of this element downward toat least 18 to 24 inches.7. Applications of nitrate of sodacaused the pH of the soil to rise and ap-plications of ammonium nitrate causedthe pH to drop.INFLUENCE OF ANNUAL FERTILIZER APPLICATIONSON A PEACH ORCHARD SOILBy J. P. OVERCASHS S. P. CROCKETT" and L. E. GHOLSTON"'Peach orchards are often located onhillsides to provide good air drainage forfrost protection. Often these hill soils areeither already eroded or subject to ero-sion. In many instances the soils are notnaturally as fertile as bottom soils orlevel soils which are less subject to ero-sion.Since peach orchard soils are ofter.low in readily available mineral nutrients,it would be desirable to know the influenceof continual applications of phosphorus,potassium and nitrogen fertilizers on thesesoils. This information would help thegrowers to determine the need for addi-tions of these fertilizers to their orchardsto promote more tree growth and betteryield.A long-time fertilizer experiment at[^olly Springs, Mississippi was used asa source of soil samples for this study.Very heavy annual rates of applicationof nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiumfertilizers under part of the trees permit-ted a study of depth of movement ofphosphorus and potassium in the soilswhich were cultivated shallow only. Thisinformation could be useful in interpretingtree growth, since peaches are a verydeep rooted crop.Materials and MethodsAn orchard of Sullivans Early Elbertapeach trees was set in a Grenada silt loamsoil in 1946. The trees were spaced 20 x 20feet apart and annually a furrow wasplowed between the rows to a depth of12 inches to minimize cross-feeding be-tween rows.The orchard was clean cultivated dur-ing the summers with the area underthe tree hoed clean. In the winter an oatcover crop was planted between the trees.In the spring of 1948 one experimentwas begun with two-tree plots surround-ed by border trees. This NPK factorialexperiment included nitrogen at the rateof one pound nitrate of soda or Vi poundof ammonium nitrate per tree {>er yearof age. The phosphorus was applied atthe rate of one pound of 20% superphos-phate per tree per year of age, and thepotassium at the rate of % pound of 50%muriate of potash per tree per year ofage. The maximum amount of fertilizerwas reached at 6 years of tree age andthis amount was continued thereafter.In the spring of 1950 another experimentwas begun on the border rows, betweenthe NPK test rows of the first experi-ment. Three levels of NPK were used asfollows: NPK at the rates described inthe first experiment; 2 NPK at twicethese rates per tree annually; and 3 NPKat three times the annual rates used forthe NPK plots in the first experiment.At six years of age and each year there-after the trees at the 3 NPK level eachreceived 18 pounds of nitrate of soda or9 pounds of ammonium nitrate, 18 poundsof 20% superphosphate and AVi poundsof 50% muriate of potash.All of the phosphate and potash fertiliz-er and two-thirds of the nitrogen wereapplied in the spring before growth began.The remainder of the nitrogen wasapplied in late June or early July. Thefertilizer was distributed evenly over thearea under the limb spread of the treeand mixed in the soil by hoeing shallow.In both experiments the treatments werelocated at random in each of four blocksin the orchard.Beginning in 1948, and each year there-after, soil samples were collected from onetree of each plot in the test orchard. Thesame trees were sampled annually. A totalof one quart of soil per tree was formedby sampling the 0- to 6-inch depth in^Horticulturist, Agri. Expt. Sta., -Sunerintendent. North Mississippi Branch Station, -"^Assoc.Agronomist, Agr. Extension Service,4 MISSISSIPPI AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 6ii0.15 N to lactic acid, 0.03 N to NH-F,0.10 N to (NH.)^'SO. and 0.21 N toNaOH. The pH of the final solution was4.25 -j- .05 and was adjusted by addingghicial acetic acid or solid NaOH as re-c]uired.ResultsPhosphorus: The application of super-phosphate fertilizer in the spring, eitheralone or with nitrogen or potash, alwaysresulted in higher available phosphorus inthe soil samples at 0 to 6 inches depth inlate fall, table 1. The average availablephosphorus in the soil under all trees re-ceiving phosphate fertilizer was 286.6pounds per acre for the five years shownin table 1. Whereas, for soils which re-ceived no phosphate fertilizer it was only11.4 pounds. Neither nitrogen nor potas-sium had any significant influence on theanalyses for phosphorus in the soils.After eleven annual applications of phos-phate fertilizers the soils were sampled in6-inch levels to 36 inches to detcnine thedownward movement of this element.When samples of soils under all trees re-ceiving phosphate in the NPK factorialexperiment were compared with those re-ceiving none there were significantlyTable 1.—The influence of annual applications of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers onthe pounds of P,0; equivalent per acre in the soil at a depth of 0 to 6 inches under Sullivans EarlyElberta peach trees planted in 1946 at Holly Springs, Mississippi.Treatment 1949 1951 1953 1955 1957Nitrogen 3.7 2.1 4.3 5.0 14.0Phosphorus 135.5 219.0 291.5 367.0 393.0Potassium 5.2 8.0 14.0 16.7 14.7Nitrogen, Phosphorus 216.4 87.2 289.8 125.2 367.3Nitrogen, Potassium 3.6 6.4 9.0 9.9 20.0Phosphorus, Potassium 255.9 246.0 290.3 367.0 336.7Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassiuin 380.9 168.7 241.0 360.7 336.7Check 5.6 9.4 14.3 40.5 21.0L. S. D. .05 145.4 111.6 54.1 45.2 67.1.01 198.0 152.0 73.7 61.1 93.1Summary of means for all trees recei\'ing ca- h fertilizer elementNitrogen 151.2 66.1 136.0 175.2 184.5No Nitrogen 100.7 120.5 152.5 197.8 205.4Phosphorus 247.2** 180.2** 278.1* 355.0** 372.5**No Phosphorus 4.7 6.4 10.4 18.0 17.4Potassium 161.5 107.2 138.6 188.6 191.1No Potassium 90.3 79.4 149.9 184.4 198.8the undisked area under the trees usinga composite of soil from 10 holes per tree.In 1958 soil samples were collected at6-inch levels to 36 inches. In order toeliminate mixing of the various levels, alarge hole was bored to the beginning ofthe new level; then a small hole was boredto the proper depth for the sample.The soil testing procedures were as fol-lows:pH — Soil reactions were determinedon a soil-water suspension of a 1:2 ratiousing a glass electrode.Potash — Available potassium wasmeasured by shaking 5 gms. of soil with20 ml. (1:4 ratio) of a solution that was0.5 N hydrochloric acid (HCl) and de-termined flameometrically using a Perkin-Elmer Flame-photometer.Phosphorus — The available phos-phorus was determined by procedure de-vised by Lancaster (unpublished data,1955). Briefly, the method was as follows:5 gms. of soil were shaken with 20 ml.of extracting solution for 10 minutes andphosphorus in the extracting solution de-termined colormetrically, according to themolybdenum blue procedure using 1-am-ino-2-napthol-4 sulfonic acid as a reducingagent. The extractant consisted of a solu-tion that was of 0.35 N to acetic acid,Significant at .05 level. •*Stgnificant at .01 levelINFLUENCE OF FERTILIZERS ON A PEACH ORCHARD SOIL 5higher amounts of phosphorus as deep asthe 24- to 30-inch level as shown in table2.In the experiment with 3 rates of NPKfertilizer application the penetration ofphosphorus under 3 (NPK) rate wassignificantly greater than the check to adepth of 12-18 inches—table 3. Over twiceas much phosphorus was recorded at thisdepth.Potassium: The addition of 1 1/2pounds of 50% muriate of potash undermature peach trees in the NPK factorialexperiment resulted in an average analysisfor the five years shown in table 4 of433.8 pounds of potassium per acre ascontrasted to only 122.5 pounds wherenone was added. The addition of nitro-gen fertilizer resulted in significantly low-er analyses for potassium in four out offive years shown in table 4. When nitro-gen was applied, larger trees resulted, andtherefore the trees required a larger partof the potassium available in the soil.This greater consumption by the treesmay have been responsible in part forthe lower analyses.The average pounds of exchangeablepotassium in the soil per acre for the fiveyears shown in table 4 was 152.7 forcheck trees; 278.4 for NPK trees and591.7 for the trees receiving only potashfertilizer. This indicates that part of thepotash applied under the NPK trees wasused by the greater tree growth which re-sulted, in contrast to the trees receivingonly potash which had higher potassiumanalyses.Table 2.—The influence of annual applications of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers underSullivans Early Elberta peach trees planted in 1946 at Holly Springs, Mississippi on the pounds of P^O,equivalent per acre in the soil at various depths in the fall of 1958.Soil sampling depth — inchesTreatment 0-6 6-12 12-18 18-24 24-30 30-36Nitrogen 25.7 14.7 6.3 18.0 25.0 20.0Phosphorus 393.0 28.3 24.3 28.0 24.3 20.7Potassium 33.0 20.3 13.0 10.3 21.6 19.0Nitrogen, Phosphorus 393.0 26.0 17.3 18.6 45.6 18.0Nitrogen, Potassium 17.3 17.3 18.7 18.6 21.0 12.7Phosphorus, Potassium 393.0 27.0 23.0 25.3 35.0 21.0Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium 393.0 25.0 32.3 25.6 18.0 21.0Check 25.0 28.3 18.3 25.6 18.6 21.3L. S. D. .05 6.8 18.2 18.1 8.8 11.7 10.1.01 9.4 25.3 25.1 12.2 16.2 14.1Summary of means for all treatments receiving each fertilizer element.Nitrogen 207.2 20.7 18.6 20.3 27.4 17.9No Nitrogen 211.0 26.0 19.7 22.3 24.9 20.7Phosphorus 393.0* 26.5 24.3* 24.4** 30.7** 20.4No Phosphorus 25.2 20.2 14.0 18.2 21.6 18.2Potassium 209.0 22.4 21.7 20.0 23.9 IS.6No Potassium 209.2 25.3 16.6 22.6 28.4 20.0Significant at .05 level.**Significant at .01 level.Table 3.—The influence of three rates of annual application of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiumfertilizers under Sullivans Early Elberta peach trees planted in 1946 at Holly Springs, Mississippi onthe pounds of P^O,; equivalent per acre in the soil at various depths in the fall of 1958.Soil sampling depth — inchesRates of Fertilizer 0-6 6-12 12-18 18-24 24-30 .^0-36Check 25.0 28.3 18.3 25.7 18.7 21.3NPK 393.0 34.3 32.3 25.7 18.0 21.02 (NPK) 393.0 52.3 27.0 26.3 22.3 19.33 (NPK) 393.0 178.7 43.7 26.7 21.0 20.3L. S. D. .05 1.8 31.9 8.8 9.0 13.5 16.0.01 2.8 48.3 13.5 13.6 20.4 24.36 MISSISSIPPI AGRICUL TURAL EXPERIMENT S I A LIGN BULLETIN 633After eleven annual applications otmuriate of jx)tash the soil analyses show-ed (table 5) that the potassium had mov-ed downward below the 0 to 6-inch level.Where potash alone was applied to thesoil the concentration was higher thanfor check plots at a depth of 18 to 24inches. The application of nitrogen fer-tilizer and the subsequent greater treesize resulted in significantly lower potas-sium analyses to a depth of 12-18 inches.The exchangeable potassium was sig-nificantly higher under trees receiving2 (NPK) than the check at a depth of 0to 6 inches (table 6). When the heavierapplication of potash was applied underthe 3(NPK) trees the potassium was high-er than the check to a greater depth (18to 24 inches).Nitrogen: Two sources of nitrogen fer-tilizers were used in the NPK factorialexperiment. In 1948, 1949, and 1950 ni-Table 4.—The influence of annual applications of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers onthe pounds of exchangeable potassium per acre in the soil at a depth of 0 to 6 inches under SullivansEarly Elberta peach trees planted in 1946 at Holly Springs, MississippiTreatment 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958Nitrogen 178.5 209.7 102.7 75.3 161.7Phosphorus 132.7 134.2 61.5 76.7 99.3Potassium 534.0 650.0 572.0 552.3 650.0Nitrogen, Phosphorus 127.7 161.7 48.7 42.0 73.7Nitrogen, Potassium 466.7 526.7 269.5 409.3 319.3Phosphorus, Potassium 532.2 625.7 459.7 379.0 305.0Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium 341.5 455.0 298.0 155.0 175.3Check 188.0 155.0 122.7 155.0 142.7L. S. D. .05 317.1 124.] 154.6 106.5 177.1.01 431.6 168.9 210.5 147.8 245.9Summary of means for all trees receiving each fertilizer elementNitrogen 278.6* 338.3 179.7** 170.4** 182.5**No Nitrogen 346.7 391.3 304.0 290.7 299.2Phosphorus 283.5 344.2 217.U 163.1** 163.3**No Phosphorus 341.8 385.4 266.7 298.0 318.4Potassium 468.6** 564.4** 399.8** 373.9** 362.4362.4**No Potassium 156.7 165.2 83.9 87.2 119.3Table 5.—The influence of annual applications of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizersunder Sullivans Early Elberta peach trees planted in 1946 at Holly Springs, Mississippi on the poundsof exchangeable potassium per acre in the soil at various depths in 1958.Soil sampling depth — inchesTreatment 0-6 6-12 12-18 18-24 24-30 30-36Nitrogen 161.7 52.7 74.7 84.3 68.3 75.6Phosphorus 99.3 49.7 67.0 86.3 76.7 97.3Potassium 650.0 190.3 83.7 89.7 60.7 66.0Nitrogen, Phosphorus 73.7 39.7 52.0 70.0 53.0 67.0Nitrogen, Potassium 319.3 77.0 52.7 74.7 56.3 78.0Phosphorus, Potassium 305.0 1 in.3so.780.^ 55.0 56.3Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium 175.3 54.0 54.0 66.7 81 .0 S0.3Check 142.7 56.0 62.7 70.7 90.7 81.3L. S. D. .05 177.1 49.6 20.6 17.2 20.7 26.1.01 245.9 68.8 28.7 23.9 28.8 36.2Summary of means for all treatments receiving each fertilizer elementNitrogen 182.5* 55.8** 58.3 73.9 64.7 70.0No Nitrogen 299.2 101.6 75.7 81.7 70.7 75.3Phosphorus 163.3** 63.4* 65.6 75.8 66.4 70.1No Phosphorus 318.4 94.0 68.4 79.8 69.0 75.2Potassium 362.4** I07.9*- 70.0 77.8 63.2 64.9No Potassium 119.3 49.S64.0 77.8 72.2 80.4*Significant at .05 level. **Significant at .01 level.INFLUENCE OF FERTILIZERS ON A PEACH ORCHARD SOILTable 6.—The influence of three rates of annual application of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiumfertilizers under Sullivans Early Elberta peach trees planted in 1946 at Holly Springs, Mississipi/ion the pounds of exchangeable potassium per acre in the soil at various depths in 1958.Soil sampling depth — inchesTreatment 0-6 6-12 12-18 18-24 24-30 30-36Rates of fertilizerCheck 142.7 56.0 62.7 70.7 90.7 81.3NPK 175.3 54.0 54.0 66.7 81.0 59.32 (NPK) 490.3 156.0 95.0 93.0 68.0 74.73 (NPK) 577.7 319.3 135.3 112.3 87.3 92.0L. S. D. .05 121.5 181.5 38.2 34.8 42.5 45.2.01 184.1 275.0 57.9 52.7 64.3 68.5Table 7.—The influence of source of nitrogen* fertilizer on pH of soils at a depth of 0 to 6 inchesin a Sullivans Early Elberta peach orchard at Holly Springs, Mississippi.Treattment 1948 1950 1953 1956 1958Nitrogen 5.37 6.49 4.66 5.54 5.00Phosphorus 4.98 4.95 5.77 5.10 4.50Potassium 5.10 5.24 5.27 5.10 4.63Nitrogen, Phosphorus 5.32 5.90 4.80 5.55 4.87Nitrogen, Potassium 5.56 6.25 4.82 5.61 5.53Phosphorus, Potassium 5.05 4.87 5.31 5.16 5.12Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium 5.39 5.62 4.77 5.47 5.00Check 5.22 5.37 5.26 5.20 5.00L. S. D. .05 .36 .24 .28 .24 .29.01 .49 .32 .38 .33 .40Summary of means for all trees receiving each fertilizer elementNitrogen 5.41* 6.06** 4.77** 5.54** 5.10**No Nitrogen 5.08 5.12 5.29 5.16 4.82Phosphorus 5.17 5.34** 5.04 5.32 4.88**No Phosphorus 5.32 5.84 5.02 5.38 5.04Potassium 5.27 5.49 5.06 5.35 5.08''*No Potassium 5.22 5.69 5.00 5.35 4.84*1948-1950 nitrate of soda *Signific;int at .05 level1951-1953 ammonium nitrate **Significant at .01 level1954-1957 nitrate of soda1958 ammonium nitratetrate of soda was used in both spring andsummer applications. This fertilizer re-sulted in raising the pH from an averageof 5.12 for all trees receiving no nitrogento 6.06 for all trees receiving this fertil-izer, see table 7.When the source of nitrogen was chang-ed to ammonium nitrate the pH afterthree more years was reduced from 5.29for all trees receiving no nitrogen to 4.77.The most pronounced changes in pHwere observed when nitrogen alone wasapplied as compared with the check trees.The soil under the NPK trees was ap-parently buffered against such wide changes in pH by the nitrogen sources.

Influence of annual fertilizer applications on a peach orchard soil

https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1506&context=mafes-bulletins

Influence of annual fertilizer applications on a peach orchard soil

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Scholars Junction - Mississippi State University Institutional Repository