Fruit yield of ‘Kinkas’ apples as influenced by irrigation and fertigation

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of irrigation and forms of fertilizers addition to the soil on nutrient availability (conventional solid or fertigation), composition of leaves and fruits as well as fruit yield. The experiment was carried out in the season of 2014/15 in an orchard planted on a Haplumbrept, in São Joaquim, southern of Brazil, with the cultivar Kinkas. Treatments consisted of conventional solid fertilization (CSF), CSF + irrigation (CSF+I, fertigation (F) and (F+I). It was used the completely randomized block design, with eight replications. Irrigation depth and scheduling was determined through tensiometer readings, installed in the experimental units. It was determined the contents of Ca, Mg, P and K in the soil, macro and micronutrients in the leaves, fruit yield, soluble solids, acidity and flesh firmness. Fruit number and fruit yield, as well as soil attributes, were not affected by any treatment. Leave composition varied among treatments: Ca contents were higher on the treatment I+F than on CSF+I; for Mg, the higher contents occurred on treatments CSF and CSF+I relatively to I+F and F; for K, treatments I+F and F presented higher values than CSF and CSF+I. The concentration of sugars was lowest in the fertigated treatment. Thus, besides to affect leaf and fruit composition, the form of nutrient addition to the soil and irrigation had no effect on both soil attributes and fruit yield.