Slovak Water Management Enterprise, S.P., Irrigation and Drainage Branch Office, Vrakunska 29, 82563, Bratislava 211, Slovakia.
Key words: apples, application rates, buds, chemical properties, crop quality, crop yield, cultivars, fertigation, fruits, nitrogen fertilizers, NPK fertilizers, physical properties, sensory evaluation, trickle irrigation
Journal of Applied Horticulture, 2003, volume 5, issue 1, pages 3-6.
Abstract: Experiments were conducted during 1999 and 2000 in Bratislava, Slovak Republic to evaluate the effects of different irrigation and fertilizer treatments on the quality of apple cultivars Gala, Jonagold and Idared. The treatments were: (A) liquid fertilizer (80 kg N, 80 kg P2O5 and 125 kg K2O/ha) combined with irrigation (fertigation); (B) liquid fertilizer (120 kg N, 80 kg P2O5 and 125 kg K2O/ha) combined with irrigation (fertigation); (C) solid fertilizer (80 kg N, 80 kg P2O5 and 125 kg K2O/ha) with irrigation; and (K) control, solid fertilizer (80 kg N, 80 kg P2O5 and 125 kg K2O/ha) without irrigation (atmospheric precipitation only). An increased rate of N (120 kg/ha) resulted in bigger shares of Selective and Class I grade fruits. A similar effect was produced by drip irrigation and typical response of individual cultivars was confirmed. In 1999, the share of Selective grade fruits by Gala was 93.3% in the non-irrigated treatment, which declined to 39.59% in the following year. An increased rate of N and
