Plant protection and foliar fertilizing technology of apple (Malus domestica Borkh)

Abstract

The systematic use of foliar fertilizers during growing season is a relatively new agronomic practice in Central Russia and it is still not widely used in horticultural enterprises of the region. One of the main reasons for this is the relatively high cost of this method. Producers prefer soil fertilization which adversely affect the environment. A significant reduction in cost of foliar fertilizing could be obtained by combining foliar nutrition with plant protection. The number of plant protection treatments, as well as toxicity of some products, is increasing annually. The use of fertilizers and plant protection products negatively affect the environment. It is very important to find ways of decreasing this load on surroundings. Currently, many different biological preparations for plant protection exist which are suggested to replace chemicals. The problem is in their relative low effectiveness compared to traditional plant protection products. The authors have studied the most popular plant protection products (in a traditional protection system) and application of foliar fertilizers (in a mineral foliar fertilizer system) in comparison with ecologized plant protection system (based on bacterial and low-toxic preparations) in tank mixtures with seaweed extracts-based foliar fertilizers. The authors have considered yield, scab development, content of calcium in leaves and fruits as the main criteria of this study. The research was carried out in the irrigated orchard (1,480 trees/ha), planted in leached meadow-chernozem soil. The investigation was carried out in 2013-2015. The results of traditional plant protection system in tank mixtures with mineral foliar fertilizer application, as well as ecologized products with seaweed extracts-based preparations, have been compared. Traditional plant protection system in combination with mineral foliar fertilizers have ensured a higher content of calcium in leaves and fruits, less damage from scab and higher yields. We can consider two ways of replacing traditional plant protection and fertilizing approach: the development of new highly efficient ecologized products or increased financial support.