Autumn feeding of apple trees in winter: what and how to fertilize, what fertilizers to apply

The needs of apple trees

With the appearance of the first leaves, you can start feeding the apple tree. It can be organic or mineral fertilizers. In order for the foliage to develop well, it is necessary to be the first to introduce nitrogen monofertilizers or complex mixtures, which include nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Potassium will be needed later, closer to the beginning of flowering. But nitrogen and phosphorus, which work in pairs, are needed immediately.

Apple trees love both mineral and organic fertilizers, so you can use any:

urea;

nitroammophoska;

ammonium nitrate;

manure.

The proportions must be observed as written in the instructions. If you pour in nitrogen supplements, then the tree will develop shoots, but people will be left without apples, since all the energy will go into growth.

In case of an overdose of mineral mixtures, you can burn the roots of the tree and then it will die. It is also not recommended to add nitrogen several times. Closer to flowering, the apple tree will need potassium for the formation of ovaries.

Another question is how to fertilize under the apple tree. All mineral and organic mixtures you need embed in a near-trunk circle to a depth of 40 cm and sprinkle with earth.

When is the best time to fertilize?

Much depends on the correct selection of the timing of the autumn feeding of apple trees. If you apply fertilizers before the onset of the first frost, the tree will have time to fully absorb them and, accordingly, will be ready for the coming winter.

To increase frost resistance, according to the recommendations of experts, the refusal to water the trees with the onset of the first month of autumn - September - helps.

In most areas, gardeners still have about 5 to 7 weeks before the first snow falls. This time is enough to carry out the necessary measures for feeding the apple trees. The soil, which was affected by the first frost, is not able to absorb and process substances brought in from the outside.

For regions where frosts come late, it is recommended to carry out autumn feeding of apple trees in October. As practice shows, the optimal deadline for the completion of work is November 15th. When setting the dates, they are guided by the latitude, where the landings are located and the average annual temperature.

Organic fertilizers

If organic matter is preferred, then there is only one way out - liquid manure or compost. You can use rotted manure by sprinkling it into the trunk circle in the amount of 3 - 5 buckets per adult tree... It is better when fertilizers for the apple tree are applied in liquid form. Then they quickly go to the roots and are absorbed.

There is a lot of potassium in manure, so the tree gets two elements at the same time. Potassium holds well in the soil, rains have little effect on it, therefore, one root feeding of the apple tree with this fertilizer in summer in July is enough to provide nutrition before harvesting.

The amount of dressings must be calculated based on the type of soil on the site. If the apple tree grows on black soil, then in such a soil there is usually enough nitrogen and the feeding of the apple tree is carried out once in the spring.

On sandstones, it will be necessary to apply fertilizer under the apple tree several times during the growing season, since the substances are gradually washed out into the lower layers of the soil horizon and become inaccessible to the plant. In this case, the total amount of organic fertilizer will need divide it three times and feed the tree every 10 to 14 days.

Manure has one big drawback: it contains absolutely no phosphorus, so phosphorus additives will need to be looked for in another type of fertilizer - animal origin. A rich source of organic phosphorus is bone meal or fish meal.

Bone flour

Bone meal contains not only phosphorus, but also calcium and potassium. And also nitrogen in the amount of 2 - 3%... Calcium directly affects the taste of apples, as it participates in the formation of sugar. Bone meal is considered a long-lasting fertilizer. The period of its dissolution up to 8 months.

But this does not mean that the substance will begin to act in 8 months. After application, bone meal begins to dissolve in the soil gradually and releases useful substances. Therefore, the feeding of apple trees is carried out constantly.

Video: Express feeding apple trees

Bone meal is applied under the apple trees in the fall after fruiting. Thus, over the winter, it has time to be sufficiently processed into substances available to plants. The substance is dug up with the soil in the area of the trunk circle. Apple feeding produced once every three years... Need about 200 g of substance per square meter.

Another animal substance that contains organic phosphorus is fishmeal. It contains more nitrogenous substance - to 10%. There is also more phosphorus and potassium. Fishmeal is capable of alkalizing the soil, so it is often used on acidified soils to bring the pH back to normal. Restores damaged tree roots well.

Ash

Closer to the beginning of flowering, potassium can be applied. It is present in both manure (or compost) and wood ash. The remains of burnt plants - straw, trees - are a valuable nutrient for feeding apple trees in the summer during the period of fruiting and ripening of fruits.

These trees need a lot of potassium. It is consumed quickly, therefore, in addition to manure, you can additionally add ash - dig it up with the ground. The content of trace elements in ash helps the tree resist disease and improves metabolism.

In addition to nutrients, ash contributes to the flow of oxygen into the soil, which is very useful for young apple seedlings. Their root system develops better in the presence of oxygen. It is especially useful to fertilize apple trees with ash on clay soils, which become looser and lighter.

Important! In order for the ash to bring the maximum benefit to the apple trees on the site, it should be applied as part of the compost or separately in the fall after fruiting.

It is not recommended to feed the apple tree with ash in the following cases:

if at the same time nitrogen fertilizers are applied, the effectiveness of which decreases, since ash neutralizes acid;

if the pH level is higher than 7, the ash will increase it even more, the absorption of other nutrients will be disrupted;

can not be applied together with plant compost, again - because of nitrogen;

ash is not added to fresh manure, as this leads to the formation of substances that plants cannot assimilate.

To prevent burns of young apple seedlings, the ash must be mixed with the ground. One adult tree you need 200 g of ash. Per seedling - 100 g. If you cook solution for 10 l, then 150 g of ash must be infused in water for 7 days, Further water at the root.

Means for increasing fruiting

Fertilizers when planting an apple tree in the fall are needed to replenish the balance of trace elements. Their deficiency can be easily detected by the deterioration of the tree condition. All injured areas are treated with copper sulfate. This is how disinfection is done. An additional layer of garden varnish is applied. All funds are worth buying in the store.

There are a number of basic signs:

Phosphorus. Helps to strengthen immunity before wintering, increase fruiting in the next season.A sign of a deficiency is the formation of yellow-green spots, which leads to foliage falling off. For feeding, 30 g of superphosphate is enough for 1 m2.
Nitrogen. Deficiency symptom - slow growth of leaves, their small size, pale appearance. The growth rate of green mass and shoots depends on nitrogen. The shortage will lead to the fall of the ovaries. To replenish the balance, fertilize the apple tree in autumn with humus, manure, peat, compost.
Bor. A sign of a deficiency is foliage of an irregular shape, acquiring a dark shade, great thickness, subsequent fall. Boric acid must be used. Add 10 g of the product to a bucket of water. The solution is applied to the plant with a spray bottle. Foliar dressing is applied only in dry weather, when there is no wind.

It is important not to confuse proportions. This will produce the opposite result.

Mineral fertilizers

Urea (carbamide) is a good spring fertilizer for apple trees. It contains nitrogen in a readily available form. On the one thing wood you need up to 600 g of urea.

Top dressing of apple trees in spring before fruiting can be carried out with complex fertilizers:

nitroammophoska;

diammophoska;

nitrophoska.

The norms for fruit trees are indicated in the instructions.

Fertilizing apple trees with mineral fertilizers can be carried out by foliar method. On light sandy soils, soil nitrogen or potassium is not enough, therefore, it is periodically necessary to apply it to the leaves so that they do not turn yellow and do not crumble.

Trace elements

The lack of trace elements can cause chlorosis, death of shoots and foliage. If it is noticeable that the leaves have begun to become stained or dry at the edges, then it is time to treat with a solution of trace elements. On sale there are universal formulations with instructions for use for apple trees. It is necessary to process the crown of the tree - preferably in the evening in cloudy weather, so that the foliage is well saturated with the solution.

Symptoms of nutritional deficiencies

The apple tree reacts very quickly to the deficiency of micro and macro elements and shows "hunger" by its appearance.

It is necessary to feed the root apple tree if:

The size, color and shape of the sheet plate have changed.
The sheet changed its position (went up or down).
The growth of shoots has stopped.
Spots and necrosis appeared.
The fruits became atypical in size, color, shape.
Deformation and shedding of the crop began.
The taste of apples has changed, an uncharacteristic bitterness has appeared.

Lack of each nutrient is manifested by its own symptoms:

Nitrogen deficiency - small leaves with a light green or even yellow color, early fall of foliage, weak shoot growth and stunted growth, small fruits that fall off prematurely.
Lack of phosphorus - dull green with a bronze sheen color of the leaf plate, prolonged flowering and formation of ovaries, early foliage shedding.
Potassium deficiency - pale bluish-green leaves with the manifestation of chlorosis, the leaf plate is lowered down, dried tissues, thin shoots and short internodes are observed along the edges.
Lack of calcium - the young leaf blade turns pale and curls upward, ovaries and leaves fall off, slow growth, lack of new growth points. Top dressing of apple trees in summer with fertilizers is carried out in a complex manner using ready-made compositions of microelements and organics.

Fungal diseases of apple trees

Fruit trees can be affected by fungus. The most common apple disease is scab. The reasons are lack of air in the crown, which has not been cut for a long time. The leaves are covered with black spots. The same thing happens with fruits. A solution of urea and copper sulfate is the first remedy for fungus.

Fruit tree bark processing

In order for the apple tree to feel good in the spring and bear fruit in the fall, during feeding, you need to clean the bark of moss, lichens, examine the bark for the presence of pests.

Moss is removed from the bark with an iron brush, then the places are treated with copper sulfate. The same is done if wintering pests are found under the bark - they are sprayed with vitriol. If the old bark has been badly damaged by insects, it is better to destroy it along with them. Bare wood is disinfected with vitriol, and then smeared with garden varnish. This mixture protects damaged areas from moisture loss from the inside and external influences. In winter, these are temperature changes and frost.

Home garden recipe

Required:

1 part rosin;

1 part beeswax

500 g of flaxseed oil;

furnace ash - 1 part.

Procedure:

Melt rosin and wax, mix.

Add linseed oil and ash, mix.

If you add 10% of the volume of zinc oxide to the mixture, you get a frost-resistant putty. Linseed oil cannot be replaced with any other oil.

Garden pitch is used to putty cuts and stripping on the bark. If the farm has cow dung and clay, then these two ingredients are mixed in equal proportions, water is added. The mixture should look like thick sour cream. She putty the trunk in places of damage to the bark and wrap it with rags for a year. The next year, in the fall, the tree is examined and, if necessary, the procedure is repeated.

Whitewashing apple trees

For whitewashing, use a solution consisting of lime, wood glue and copper sulfate:

Dissolve 5 kg of lime, 1 kg of vitriol and 500 g of glue in 20 liters of water.

Stir well and let stand for a couple of hours.

It is necessary to whitewash the trunks in dry weather so that the solution dries immediately.

If the leaves have completely fallen off, then the branches are sprayed with urea so that the tree does not get sick with scab. You need to dissolve 500 g of urea in a bucket of water. Helps fight fungus and Bordeaux liquid 3% concentration: for a bucket of water 300 g of copper sulfate and 400 g of slaked lime. You need to spray with a mask and gloves.

Warming of the bark and protection from rodents

After whitewashing, the apple tree is wrapped in material or thick cardboard. This will protect young trees from freezing and damage by animals. After winding the barrel, the material is secured with tape or rope. If the barrel is not whitened, then the lower part of the winding must be sprinkled with earth and pressed down.

Apple feeding calendar

In early spring, you can add:

Nitrogen or complex fertilizer in the trunk circle.

Organics with the addition of phosphorus.

Second spring feeding of apple trees during flowering:

Urea spray.

Humus.

Third fertilization:

Spraying with green fertilizer.

Potash fertilizers.

After flowering, nitrogen is not used during the fruit pouring phase. The turn of potash fertilizers is coming. They help the fruit gain weight.

In the summer, during the fruiting, pouring and ripening of apples, you need to monitor the trees so that fungus does not appear on them and does not spoil the harvest. In which case - immediately treat with copper sulfate.

In the fall, after harvesting, fruit trees can be prepared for winter. It is not recommended to apply nitrogen fertilizers under the apple tree during this period, as this can cause the growth of young shoots, the tree will not have time to prepare for winter and the young branches will freeze.

The best option would be to use phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. These are superphosphates, phosphate rock, ash, bone meal, potassium sulfate. If it was not possible to find on sale double formulations of fertilizers that do not contain nitrogen, then you can buy phosphorus and potassium separately and mix according to the instructions.

Autumn care activities

In addition to fertilizing, caring for an apple tree in autumn also includes a number of other agrotechnical measures that prepare the plant for the onset of cold weather.

Substrate processing - moistening, removing weeds, digging. You need to loosen the ground carefully so as not to damage the roots. These procedures allow you to increase the frost resistance of the tree.Additionally, the surface should be mulched with sawdust or tree bark, which in spring will act as an additional fertilizer and protect the soil from severe freezing in winter.
Removing diseased / old bark. A sharp piece of plastic is taken as a tool, metal knives or spatulas are not suitable for such an event. It is better to carry out the procedure after precipitation, when the bark is slightly wet. If, according to the forecast, rain is not expected, the surface is moistened independently. When the table itself is injured, the “wound” is treated with garden varnish.
Pruning. The dried branches are removed 21 days before the expected frost, so that the cut site has time to tighten before the onset of cold weather. The recommended shape for the crown is a cone, in which the lower shoots are characterized by larger dimensions than the upper ones. Young specimens are pruned more delicately. In this case, only dry damaged segments are removed.
Spraying to prevent diseases and prevent the appearance of insects.
Whitewashing the trunk. Minimizes the impact of aggressive external factors, including the activity of the sun's rays, prevents damage from pests and infection of the crop. White covers the entire base of the tree, including the lower branches.
Shelter for young seedlings. Use a burlap bag. Additionally, a frame is built so that the branches are not injured during wintering under the weight of snow.

Top dressing of apple trees in autumn allows you to create protection for the tree and increase its immunity before the winter cold. Autumn fertilization allows a high percentage of flower buds to be laid for the next season.

Why do you need feeding apple trees in the fall

Mulching apple trees

The procedure is carried out to retain water in the soil in the summer, to protect the roots in the winter. The mulch effect is more noticeable on sandy soils. Used as mulch:

straw;

bark of trees;

peat;

nutshell.

The layer of the near-barrel shelter must be at least 8 cm.

It is not advisable to use foliage as mulch because pests can live in it or a fungal infection can thrive.

Variety of ways

Top dressing of apple trees is done in two ways:

Foliar

In this case, fertilizing agents are applied directly to the trunk, as well as the shoots. The most convenient way to do this is to use a spray bottle. For feeding fruit crops in this way, the substance urea in solution is used. To prepare it, you will need to take 40 grams of the substance for each liter of liquid (water). The resulting solution is used to treat the leaves, as well as the bark.

Fall dressing using the foliar method is optional. This is due to the fact that at this time, the trees receive the bulk of the nutrients through the roots.