Calcium sources applied to soil can replace leaf application in ‘Fuji’ apple tree1

• Published in: Pesquisa agropecuária tropical 2015-09, Vol.45 (3), p.266-273
• Main Authors: Danner, Moeses Andrigo, Scariotto, Silvia, Citadin, Idemir, Penso, Gener Augusto, Cassol, Luís César
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY; AGRONOMY
• ISSN: 1983-4063; 1983-4063
• DOI: 10.1590/1983-40632015v4534457

ABSTRACTCalcium increases postharvest conservation of apples. Consequently, several calcium foliar sprays are generally applied to apple trees. Due to the low mobility of calcium in the phloem, foliar sprays may have low efficiency to supply calcium in the fruits. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different sources of calcium applied to the soil, compared to the foliar application, on the content of calcium in the soil, leaves and fruits, on yield and fruit quality of ‘Fuji’ apple trees. The following treatments were tested: control, soil application of calcium chloride, gypsum, Nitrabor®, hydrated lime and pulp sludge, and foliar application of calcium chloride. For all sources in the soil, 80 kg of calcium ha-1 year-1 were applied. For the foliar treatment, ten sprays with 0.4 % of calcium chloride were performed. The experiment was conducted in two seasons (2008/2009 and 2009/2010), in a complete randomized blocks design, with four replicates and two apple trees per plot. Even in a soil with high calcium content, the sources of calcium increase the calcium content in the soil and leaves, as well as the firmness of apples stored for 90 days. The use of gypsum and pulp sludge increase the calcium content in the flesh of ‘Fuji’ apples after two successive applications (2009/2010). The sources of calcium applied to the soil can replace the leaf application commonly used in apple orchards, in order to reduce production costs, provided there is no water restriction in the orchard. RESUMOO cálcio aumenta a conservação pós-colheita de maçãs. Por isso, são realizadas várias pulverizações via foliar em macieira. Devido à baixa mobilidade do cálcio no floema, a aplicação foliar pode ter baixa eficiência para suprir o cálcio nos frutos. Este trabalho objetivou verificar a eficiência de diferentes fontes de cálcio aplicadas ao solo, em comparação à aplicação foliar, nos teores de cálcio no solo, folhas e frutos, na produtividade e na qualidade de frutos de macieira ‘Fuji’. Foram aplicados os seguintes tratamentos: controle, cloreto de cálcio, gesso agrícola, Nitrabor®, cal hidratada e borra de celulose via solo e cloreto de cálcio via foliar. Para todas as fontes utilizadas no solo, aplicaram-se 80 kg de cálcio ha-1 ano-1. No tratamento via foliar foram realizadas dez pulverizações com cloreto de cálcio 0,4 %, durante o ciclo. O experimento foi conduzido em duas safras (2008/2009 e 2009/2010), utilizando-se o delineamento em blocos ao acaso, com quatro