Soil Nutrition Management for Sustainable Agriculture in Shaanxi
IPNI-2002-CHN-SN6
29 Jan 2005
2004 Annual Interpretive Summary
Soil Nutrition Management for Sustainable Agriculture in Shaanxi, 2004
The apple production area in Shaanxi Province has surpassed 369,000 ha at present and now accounts for 18% of China's total area. In addition, kiwi fruit and grape production is also growing on the Loess Plateau Region of Shaanxi. In most cases, fertilizer application in these orchards is imbalanced as nitrogen (N) is in surplus and potassium (K) is inadequate.
Six orchards were selected in 2004 from Heyang and Fufeng Counties to test the effect of N, phosphorus (P), and K in apples, kiwi fruit, and grapes. Planting densities for these three fruits were 1,665 trees/ha, 1,845 trees/ha, and 3,300 trees/ha, respectively. Along with existing N and P rates, 0.25 kg K2O/tree increased apple yield by 10.3%, sugar content by 1.5%, acidity decreased by 1%, and production value increased by US$266/ha. For grapes, along with 0.2 kg N/tree and 0.1 kg P2O5/tree, application of 0.2 kg K2O/tree increased yield by 8.9%, production value by US$97/ha, vitamin C content by 1.2 mg/100g, and sugar content by 1%. In kiwi, along with 0.4 kg N/tree and 0.17 kg P2O5/tree, application of 0.3 kg K2O/tree increased yield by 7.9%, vitamin C by 23.1 mg/100g, sugar content by 1.1%, and production value by US$206/ha.
If one-third of orchards apply fertilizer rationally as is outlined above, fruit output would increase to 400,000 t annually, adding an estimated US$12.1 M to Shaanxi's local economy. Shaanxi-NMS02