What are the misconceptions about calcium supplementation for apples? A look at the latest analysis
Calcium is a secondary element essential for apple growth and is also very important for the growth of apple trees. If apple trees are deficient in calcium, various physiological diseases will often occur. This affects the growth of apple trees and leads to reduced yield and quality. Therefore, calcium supplementation for apple trees is also very important, but many misconceptions often arise when supplementing calcium for apples. So what exactly are they? Let's take a look below!
1. Only supplementing calcium to the leaves
Many people, when supplementing calcium, only choose to supplement calcium to the leaves. But in fact, the main source of calcium ions for apple trees is absorption from the soil through the root system. Calcium supplementation to the leaves can only play an auxiliary role. The soil organic matter content in many orchards is not very high, and in addition, some soil is alkaline. So the root's absorption and utilization rate of calcium in the soil is relatively low. Therefore, when supplementing calcium, we should pay attention to increasing the soil's organic matter content and properly adjusting the soil's PH value to enhance the calcium absorption capacity of the fruit tree roots.
2. Calcium supplementation during the young fruit stage
Many people believe that calcium supplementation during the young fruit stage of apple trees is the most effective, and that it is useless at other times. But in fact, throughout the entire growth period of apples, foliar calcium supplementation can be effective. And the later it gets in the growth period, the better its calcium supplementation effect will be. Although during the young fruit stage, because the fruit is smaller and the peel is relatively thin, calcium absorption may be somewhat stronger. But precisely because the fruit is small, the amount of liquid it comes into contact with is also not much, so the amount of calcium supplemented will naturally be reduced. However, as the fruit grows, the surface area of the fruit will also increase, and calcium absorption will also rise, so it is best to supplement calcium after removing the bags from the bagged fruit.
3. Amino acid calcium is the best
Amino acids are a type of organic compound, which is very beneficial for leaf photosynthesis and can also allow fruit trees to quickly supplement nitrogen. Moreover, when amino acids combine with calcium, they form a substance called amino acid calcium. Properly spraying it on apple tree leaves can not only supplement amino acids but also play a role in calcium supplementation. And its calcium absorption rate can also be higher than calcium chloride and calcium nitrate. From this point of view, its calcium supplementation effect should be very good. But in fact, in amino acid calcium calcium supplement preparations, the calcium content is generally only about 4%, and after dilution it will be even lower, so the calcium supplementation effect of amino acid calcium is actually not the best.
4. The higher the calcium content, the better
The belief that the higher the calcium content of a substance, the better its calcium supplementation effect is also a major misconception among many fruit growers. Although the effect of calcium supplementation is indeed directly related to the calcium element content in the foliar fertilizer. But it is not the case that the higher the calcium content, the better, because some raw material type calcium chloride and calcium nitrate have the characteristic of high calcium content. Generally, they can reach about 35%, but the calcium supplementation effect of these two types of calcium is not very good. Because the existing form and activity of the calcium are relatively low, resulting in a low calcium absorption rate by the tree body and fruit.
The above is a brief introduction to the misconceptions about calcium supplementation for apples. That's all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!