Nutrient management for yield and fruit quality – slides

November 2022 | Presented by Dr Lee Kalcsits, Washington State University | Future Orchards®

Dr Lee Kalcsits examines nutrient management through the dual objectives of yield and fruit quality. The presentation emphasises that high crop performance depends not only on supplying nutrients, but on understanding when and where those nutrients move through the tree and how mineral balance affects fruit disorders, storage potential and market quality.

Calcium is a major focus because of its role in fruit cell strength and disorders such as bitter pit. The presentation also places calcium within the broader nutrient system, where potassium, magnesium, nitrogen, root activity, water relations and crop load can all influence uptake and partitioning. This reinforces why a simple high-calcium program does not automatically guarantee high fruit calcium.

The practical message is to combine soil, leaf and fruit testing with crop and vigour observations, then adjust nutrient management to the physiology of the block. This supports more reliable fruit quality outcomes and helps growers target inputs where they are most likely to improve commercial performance.