FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119  
120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   >>   >|  
tities for the growth, health and bearing quality of nut trees. It is well to make sure of these elements in the soils devoted to nut tree planting, but it cannot be emphasized too often that all essential elements and factors should be taken care of; anyone of them may be the limiting factor in crop failure; the one that is absent is always the most important. In regard to inorganic nutrients, more attention has probably been devoted to citrus trees than to any other tree species, largely because the soils of Florida and California require additions thereof. It would be unfair to say that such main fruit crops as apples, cherries, peaches, plums have been neglected; we merely possess more information on the nutrients of citrus trees than on other tree crops, as far as the micro essential nutrients are concerned. Most orchards and groves are fertilized only with nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, and limed when necessary. Nitrogen can stimulate size of fruit at the expense of quality. A paper by P. W. Rohrbaugh[16], Plant Physiologist of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, Ontario, California, deals with eleven mineral nutrient deficiencies and their causes, viz: calcium, magnesium, potash, phosphorus, sulphur, nitrogen, iron, boron, zinc, manganese, copper, and this might well be used as a guide for nut trees. 6) Miscellaneous A few oddities may also be mentioned for anyone inclined to experiment: From Holland it is reported that an avenue of large handsome shade trees close to a century old, all died in one year, except where a junk dealer had stacked a pile of old metals. The trees had exhausted the inorganic nutrients within reach of their roots in the soil, but the junkpile had replenished them sufficiently, so that those within reach of it kept alive to this day, twenty years later. A rock mulch is reported to have improved the growth of lime and lemon trees considerably[17], and it would seem that similar experiments should be made on young nut trees, just before bearing age in a comparative test with a check planting. Stones can be selected for the nutrients they contain, and a geologist can easily point out those containing the greatest number of elements. No one could go wrong in placing a few rocks of limestone or dolomite near the base of a tree, and let rain and sunshine, heat and frost attend to the fertilizing in a slow but perpetual manner. Maple sugar contains manganese[18], showing th
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119  
120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

nutrients

 

elements

 

California

 
inorganic
 
citrus
 

reported

 
phosphorus
 

devoted

 

potash

 

planting


nitrogen
 

growth

 

bearing

 

quality

 

manganese

 
essential
 

sufficiently

 

replenished

 

twenty

 
handsome

century

 
avenue
 

experiment

 

Holland

 

improved

 

exhausted

 

metals

 
dealer
 

stacked

 

junkpile


sunshine

 

dolomite

 

placing

 

limestone

 

showing

 

manner

 

attend

 

fertilizing

 

perpetual

 

comparative


experiments

 

considerably

 

similar

 

greatest

 

number

 

easily

 
geologist
 

Stones

 

selected

 

inclined