Abstract
The article describes an experiment conducted on maiden apple trees of selected cultivars growing in a nursery. The aim of the study was to investigate how the foliar application of four biostimulants (Aminoplant 0.4%, Biamino Plant 0.2%, Bispeed 0.2% and Fylloton 0.4%) and two fertilisers (Basfoliar 6-12-6 and Basfoliar 12-4-6+S both at a concentration of 0.5%) affected the growth of the trees cultivated with the mineral fertilisation reduced by half. The plants were sprayed with the preparations and fertilisers four times at three-week intervals, between late May and late July. Selected parameters of the plants’ physiological processes were also assessed: net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (E), stomatal conductance (C) and intracellular CO2 (I). The foliar application of all the biostimulants and fertilisers significantly improved the growth of the maiden apple trees. The lowest values of the plant growth parameters were noted in the control combination, which was treated with a full dose of mineral fertiliser. The foliar spraying of the apple trees particularly improved the total length and number of side shoots and the fresh weight of maiden apple trees. The apple tree cultivars differed in their growth parameters, and the influence of individual foliar treatments was not conclusive. The foliar application of selected preparations intensified the leaf transpiration coefficient and the internal concentration of carbon dioxide, but it did not increase the net photosynthesis intensity or stomatal conductance.
Highlights
Poland is the largest producer of maiden apple trees in Europe and the third largest apple producer in the world
Plants do not use large amounts of nutrients supplied with mineral fertilisers, because these are leached into deeper soil layers, where they degrade the environment [1,2,3,4,5]
The measurements of the mean heights of the four apple tree cultivars showed that the shortest maiden trees were found in the control combination, whereas the trees in all the other combinations sprayed with the foliar preparations were significantly taller (Table 2)
Summary
Poland is the largest producer of maiden apple trees in Europe and the third largest apple producer in the world. Large amounts of mineral fertilisers are used in nursery production to intensify the vegetative growth of fruit trees. Bearing in mind the recommendation to reduce soil fertilisation, foliar fertilisation effectively meets the nutritional requirements of plants [6]. Biostimulants are used in sustainable horticulture as environmentally friendly products [11,12,13], which help to reduce the consumption of mineral fertilisers [14,15]. Research has shown that the concentration of auxins in most biostimulants is too low to effectively stimulate the growth of the plant root system [17]. It is the development of the root system that influences the absorption of nutrients. In sustainable horticulture, fertilisation is less intensive and nutrients are supplied at low concentrations [18]
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