Nutrient Management for Litchi in Guangdong

The objectives of this study aimed to investigate the effect of K, Ca, Mg, B, and Mo fertilizers on litchi yield and quality in Guangdong as follow-up research to previous work done on the crop’s nutrient requirement and allocation. A representative litchi cultivar, Feizhixiao, was selected for this field experiment. Except for K fertilizer, which was incorporated into soil, all other nutrients were foliar-applied across three times (before blossom, at young fruit set, and fruit expansion). Results obtained from this experiment will be used to develop best nutrient management practices for litchi in the province.

Litchi yield generally increased with an increase in K input and peaked at 0.6 kg K₂O/tree, in spite of existing yield fluctuations that are usually seen in fruit tree studies. Foliar application of secondary and micronutrients significantly improved litchi yield in the order of Ca > B > Mo > Mg with considerable yield gaps between these treatments. Unexpectedly, no synergetic interactions were observed between Ca and B or when the four nutrients were applied together. Application of K fertilizer favored formation of amino acids that are essential for human health and highest levels were achieved at 0.6 kg K₂O/tree. Among the secondary and micronutrients tested, Mo was most critical in promoting essential amino acid contents.

The information generated from this study greatly helps our understanding of litchi fruit nutrition as affected by different fertilizer inputs. Guangdong-BFDP-09