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Mineral nutrition of fruit trees
Scientia Horticulturae, 15 (1981) 391--392 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands
391
Book Review FRUIT
TREES
Mineral Nutrition o f Fruit Trees, D. Atkinson, J.E. Jackson, R.O. Sharples and W.M. Waller. Butterworths, London, 1979, 435 pp., £ 30.00. This book, with the title of a textbook, is the result of an ISHS symposium held in Wye College in 1979. Many aspects of m o d e m knowledge on the subject of fruit tree nutrition are dealt with in 5 main divisions: nutrition and crop quality; uptake and transport; soil management and fertilizer application; direct application of nutrients to foliage and fruits; prediction of n u t r i e n t requirements. In a sixth division, a synthesis is a t t e m p t e d in which a very brief summary of some of the highlights is given. Surely, the reader who has n o t participated in the symposium will consult the individual chapters. Introductions by Biinemann (with an emphasis on bitter pit) and by Faust (on m o d e m concepts) pave the ground for specifics on interactions between nutrition and storage quality (Sharpies; Bramlage et al.; Shear). Some physiological considerations of cell ultrastructure (Fuller; Simons and Chu) lead to more applied concepts of integrated approaches to nutrition and bitter-pit control (Terblanche et al.; Schumacher et al.; Huguet). Other disorders such as watercore (Perring), green blotch of pears (Raese), breakdown (Quast) and boron deficiency (Shorrocks and Nicholson) are also dealt with in this part. Similarly, a multitude of contributions is devoted to uptake and transport, and t h e y give an excellent picture on the state of present knowledge (and disbelief) with regard to this section of applied plant physiology and horticulture. Various poster presentations are included as summaries, which m a y contain additional information. The third section is equally loaded with information far too specific for a review of this kind. Soil management effects have the inherent property of being polyfactorial, therefore no a t t e m p t is made here to review any part of this section in detail, particularly since " m a n a g e m e n t " here includes water management which could well be the subject of an entire separate book. Nitrogen is the one single n u t r i e n t which seems to attract m o s t of the attention of horticultural research workers, and here again some of the poster presentations m a y have fallen short of their true significance. Fruit growers and their extension agents will be very interested in the chapter dealing with direct application of nutrients to foliage and fruits. Not only calcium but m a n y other nutrients and micronutrients can be applied, either as a dressing or as a spray or even as post-harvest dips of fruits (Wieneke; Dewey). The prediction of n u t r i e n t requirements of tree crops is dealt with by Greenham, based on his experience of m a n y years at East Malling, and by Wehrmann and Scharpf with regard to a measurement o f available " m i n e r a l "
392 nitrogen in the soil in spring and the corresponding fertilization of an orchard. This section gives important hints about former over-estimates of nitrogen fertilizer needs and sound fertilizer programs for growers. Only a brief summary of this work is reported in the book. Soil analysis, as well as leaf and other tissue analyses for assessment of fertilizer needs, are discussed (Robinson; Lalatta; Marks; Delver), but here again only brief summaries are available. A p r o f o u n d study on bark protein reserves (by Hennerty et al.), as well as several papers on micronutrients (Sadowsky et al.; Fricker; Johnson), are followed by a general discussion on prediction of nutrient requirements, which makes very interesting reading m a t t e r for those who prefer brief and concise statements and who want stimuli on where to go from now on. This latter point is brought up in a paper by Rowe, who defines the future analytical requirements in the fruit industry. This leads to the General Discussion, which was edited from tape recordings. Soil management, tree management and fruit nutrition are very well summarised here, to make this book more than just transactions of a symposium but rather an almost complete account on the present state of knowledge in the greater part of the temperate-zone fruit areas. From this point of view, it is very valuable for those in the industry who did n o t have a chance to attend the conference, as well as for any research workers, y o u n g or experienced, who w a n t to know where to start from and where to look next. This original goal of the ISHS Symposium is reached and this book, which corresponds in style to " A c t a Horticulturae" (usually edited after Symposia) should find world-wide distribution. G. BUNEMANN
(Hannover, F.R. Germany)
Erratum
Shillo, R., Valis, G. and Halevy, A.H., 1981. Promotion of flowering by photoperiodic lighting in winter-grown gladiolus planted at high densities. Scientia Hortic., 14: 367--375. Page 371, line 19 from the b o t t o m : " l o w " should read "high".
391
Book Review FRUIT
TREES
Mineral Nutrition o f Fruit Trees, D. Atkinson, J.E. Jackson, R.O. Sharples and W.M. Waller. Butterworths, London, 1979, 435 pp., £ 30.00. This book, with the title of a textbook, is the result of an ISHS symposium held in Wye College in 1979. Many aspects of m o d e m knowledge on the subject of fruit tree nutrition are dealt with in 5 main divisions: nutrition and crop quality; uptake and transport; soil management and fertilizer application; direct application of nutrients to foliage and fruits; prediction of n u t r i e n t requirements. In a sixth division, a synthesis is a t t e m p t e d in which a very brief summary of some of the highlights is given. Surely, the reader who has n o t participated in the symposium will consult the individual chapters. Introductions by Biinemann (with an emphasis on bitter pit) and by Faust (on m o d e m concepts) pave the ground for specifics on interactions between nutrition and storage quality (Sharpies; Bramlage et al.; Shear). Some physiological considerations of cell ultrastructure (Fuller; Simons and Chu) lead to more applied concepts of integrated approaches to nutrition and bitter-pit control (Terblanche et al.; Schumacher et al.; Huguet). Other disorders such as watercore (Perring), green blotch of pears (Raese), breakdown (Quast) and boron deficiency (Shorrocks and Nicholson) are also dealt with in this part. Similarly, a multitude of contributions is devoted to uptake and transport, and t h e y give an excellent picture on the state of present knowledge (and disbelief) with regard to this section of applied plant physiology and horticulture. Various poster presentations are included as summaries, which m a y contain additional information. The third section is equally loaded with information far too specific for a review of this kind. Soil management effects have the inherent property of being polyfactorial, therefore no a t t e m p t is made here to review any part of this section in detail, particularly since " m a n a g e m e n t " here includes water management which could well be the subject of an entire separate book. Nitrogen is the one single n u t r i e n t which seems to attract m o s t of the attention of horticultural research workers, and here again some of the poster presentations m a y have fallen short of their true significance. Fruit growers and their extension agents will be very interested in the chapter dealing with direct application of nutrients to foliage and fruits. Not only calcium but m a n y other nutrients and micronutrients can be applied, either as a dressing or as a spray or even as post-harvest dips of fruits (Wieneke; Dewey). The prediction of n u t r i e n t requirements of tree crops is dealt with by Greenham, based on his experience of m a n y years at East Malling, and by Wehrmann and Scharpf with regard to a measurement o f available " m i n e r a l "
392 nitrogen in the soil in spring and the corresponding fertilization of an orchard. This section gives important hints about former over-estimates of nitrogen fertilizer needs and sound fertilizer programs for growers. Only a brief summary of this work is reported in the book. Soil analysis, as well as leaf and other tissue analyses for assessment of fertilizer needs, are discussed (Robinson; Lalatta; Marks; Delver), but here again only brief summaries are available. A p r o f o u n d study on bark protein reserves (by Hennerty et al.), as well as several papers on micronutrients (Sadowsky et al.; Fricker; Johnson), are followed by a general discussion on prediction of nutrient requirements, which makes very interesting reading m a t t e r for those who prefer brief and concise statements and who want stimuli on where to go from now on. This latter point is brought up in a paper by Rowe, who defines the future analytical requirements in the fruit industry. This leads to the General Discussion, which was edited from tape recordings. Soil management, tree management and fruit nutrition are very well summarised here, to make this book more than just transactions of a symposium but rather an almost complete account on the present state of knowledge in the greater part of the temperate-zone fruit areas. From this point of view, it is very valuable for those in the industry who did n o t have a chance to attend the conference, as well as for any research workers, y o u n g or experienced, who w a n t to know where to start from and where to look next. This original goal of the ISHS Symposium is reached and this book, which corresponds in style to " A c t a Horticulturae" (usually edited after Symposia) should find world-wide distribution. G. BUNEMANN
(Hannover, F.R. Germany)
Erratum
Shillo, R., Valis, G. and Halevy, A.H., 1981. Promotion of flowering by photoperiodic lighting in winter-grown gladiolus planted at high densities. Scientia Hortic., 14: 367--375. Page 371, line 19 from the b o t t o m : " l o w " should read "high".