With the cool start to the season, we are seeing several fruit tree crops slow in moving through their phenological stages.
As the season warms and the progression of tree growth speeds up, there will be great nutritional demands on the tree and this may affect its ability to size the current crop—especially if there is any added pressure on water availability.
Potassium is the key driver of fruit size, and alongside calcium and nitrogen, is required in large quantities throughout fruit development and growth.
However, too much nitrogen at a later growth stage can restrict fruit size; therefore a balanced nutrient application is crucial.
Ensuring that we have luxury levels of these major nutrients, in combination with the micro-nutrients required for maximum photosynthesis, is critical in achieving a trees fruit size potential.
See this article in Tree Fruit Nov 2019
