Soil health, nutrition and water availability

1 September 2021 | Presented by Dr Doris Blaesing, RMCG | Future Orchards®

Dr Doris Blaesing examines the relationship between soil health, orchard nutrition and water availability, emphasising that nutrient uptake depends on the condition of the whole root-zone environment. The presentation links physical soil structure, biological activity, moisture and nutrient availability to tree growth and orchard resilience.

The material encourages growers to look beyond fertiliser rates and consider whether roots can actually access water and nutrients. Compaction, poor structure, restricted rooting volume, low biological activity or uneven moisture can all limit uptake even when nutrient levels in a soil test appear adequate.

The practical value of the presentation is its systems approach: soil health, water and nutrition should be monitored and managed together. Improving root-zone conditions can make existing nutrient inputs more effective and support more consistent tree performance under variable seasonal conditions.