Apple soil and water requirements
Apples and pear trees can grow in a wide range of soils from medium textured clays to gravelly sands.
However, poor soils will produce poor results and the best crops are found on fertile sandy soils and loams. Soils should be well drained. Wet soils lead to poor aeration and increased incidence of crown rot in apples (Phytophthora cactorum). Pears are generally more tolerant of poor drainage.
Soils with high organic matter contents are normally better structured and allow good rooting. Irrigation is necessary on dry soils, particularly when establishing and growing young orchards. In hot climate, e.g. Spain, as much as 6000mm of irrigation water can be used per year to support growth.
Trickle irrigation and fertigation are increasingly used. In young orchards fertigation helps increase early tree growth and brings trees into bearing earlier. Sprinkler irrigation can be used to protect the tree buds and fruitlets against frost damage. Sowing of a grass mulch between the tree rows is common practice, which together with any clippings, helps to increase water holding capacity, infiltration rate, soil aggregation and recycling of nutrients.
Pome fruit prefer a slightly acidic to neutral soil (pH between 5.8 and 7.0). Extreme soil pH values result in nutrient tie-up or toxicity and poor tree and fruit development. It is important to amend the pH in acidic soils by incorporating lime before planting.
Recommended fertilisers for apples
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How to increase apple yield
Balanced nutrition is needed to achieve high yields. High yields are a function of fruit number and fruit size. To obtain high apple yields it is important to achieve the right balance of fruit numbers on the tree.
Apple agronomic principles
The aim of every apple grower is a high yield of top quality fruit and there are a large number of agronomic factors which can influence this, many of which are within their control given their specific growing systems and climatic/soil conditions.
Identify and diagnose apple nutrient deficiencies
Identify and diagnose if your apple trees are suffering from nutrient deficiencies and learn more about the symptoms and causes and how to control or correct the deficiency
Apple nutrient requirements
Apple nutrient requirements vary depending on the crop growth stage. Find out which nutrients are most important at different growth stages.
Apple and pear nutritional summary
Most nutrients are stored and retained as reserves in tree buds, bark and roots. These are then remobilized after winter to fuel leaf growth, flower bloom, fruit formation and growth.
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