Abstract
The olive growing sector is transitioning from traditional to intensive irrigated cultivation, dictating a need to reconsider orchard management practices including fertilization. Potassium (K) is an essential nutrient, typically found in high concentrations in plants. Orchard K fertilization requirements are commonly derived from the disparity between assumed tree requirements and extractable soil K. The long-term impact of insufficient fertilization on K available in the soil, growth, and yield of irrigated field-grown olive trees was evaluated over six consecutive seasons. Withholding of K fertilization led to lower exchangeable and soluble K concentrations in the soil and significantly impaired yield. The reduction in yield was attributed to reduced flowering and fruit set, resulting in a lower fruit number. Tree vegetative growth and flowering quality traits were not affected. In addition, trees not receiving K appeared to be more susceptible to alternate bearing. Following two seasons of omitting K fertilization, leaf K concentration did not decrease below the conventionally accepted sufficiency threshold for olive (0.8%). In spite of this, the trees produced significantly lower yields. Our results suggest that long-term insufficient K fertilization results in reduced soil available K and consequently impairs tree productivity. The results imply that the sufficiency threshold for K in diagnostic leaves should be reconsidered for intensive orchards. Moreover, the current method for K deficiency detection using leaf K concentration may be inadequate for intensive orchards. Integration of other parameters, such as fruit K content, leaf Na, and changes in soil exchangeable K content or sorption energy, may promote a more reliable analysis of orchard K nutritional status.
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Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
Withholding potassium lowered soil exchangeable potassium.
- Taxon
- Olive
Olea europaeat0 - Treatment
- Withholding of K fertilizatione0
- Outcome
- K concentrations in the soile0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Qualifier
- exchangeablee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Withholding of K fertilization led to lower exchangeable and soluble K concentrations in the soil and significantly impaired yield.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Withholding potassium lowered soil soluble potassium.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Treatment
- Withholding of K fertilizatione0
- Outcome
- soluble K concentrations in the soile0
- Direction
- lowere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Withholding of K fertilization led to lower exchangeable and soluble K concentrations in the soil and significantly impaired yield.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Withholding potassium significantly impaired olive yield.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Treatment
- Withholding of K fertilizatione0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- impairede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Withholding of K fertilization led to lower exchangeable and soluble K concentrations in the soil and significantly impaired yield.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Reduced flowering was attributed as a cause of lower yield.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Outcome
- reduction in yielde0
- Direction
- reductione0
- Qualifier
- reduced floweringe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The reduction in yield was attributed to reduced flowering and fruit set, resulting in a lower fruit number.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Reduced fruit set was attributed as a cause of lower yield.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Outcome
- reduction in yielde0
- Direction
- reductione0
- Qualifier
- fruit sete0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The reduction in yield was attributed to reduced flowering and fruit set, resulting in a lower fruit number.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit number was lower with reduced flowering and fruit set.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Outcome
- fruit numbere0
- Direction
- lowere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The reduction in yield was attributed to reduced flowering and fruit set, resulting in a lower fruit number.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Tree vegetative growth and flowering quality traits were unaffected.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Outcome
- Tree vegetative growth and flowering quality traitse0
- Direction
- not affectede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tree vegetative growth and flowering quality traits were not affected.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Trees without potassium appeared more susceptible to alternate bearing.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Treatment
- not receiving Ke0
- Outcome
- alternate bearinge0
- Direction
- more susceptiblee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In addition, trees not receiving K appeared to be more susceptible to alternate bearing.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
After two seasons without potassium, leaf potassium remained above the sufficiency threshold.
- Taxon
- oliveOlea europaeae0
- Outcome
- leaf K concentratione0
- Direction
- did not decrease belowe0
- Value
- 0.8%e0
- Qualifier
- two seasons of omitting K fertilizatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Following two seasons of omitting K fertilization, leaf K concentration did not decrease below the conventionally accepted sufficiency threshold for olive (0.8%).”
Claim · model-written summary
Trees still produced significantly lower yields despite leaf potassium above the threshold.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Outcome
- yieldse0
- Direction
- lowere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In spite of this, the trees produced significantly lower yields.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend reconsidering the diagnostic leaf potassium sufficiency threshold.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Outcome
- sufficiency threshold for K in diagnostic leaves should be reconsiderede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The results imply that the sufficiency threshold for K in diagnostic leaves should be reconsidered for intensive orchards.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors caution that leaf potassium concentration may inadequately detect deficiency in intensive orchards.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Outcome
- K deficiency detectione0
- Qualifier
- may be inadequatee0
Not reportedComparatorValue
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Moreover, the current method for K deficiency detection using leaf K concentration may be inadequate for intensive orchards.”
t0“Olive”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors propose additional fruit, leaf and soil measures for assessing orchard potassium status.
- Taxon
- OliveOlea europaeat0
- Outcome
- more reliable analysis of orchard K nutritional statuse0
- Qualifier
- fruit K content, leaf Na, and changes in soil exchangeable K content or sorption energye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Integration of other parameters, such as fruit K content, leaf Na, and changes in soil exchangeable K content or sorption energy, may promote a more reliable analysis of orchard K nutritional status.”
t0“Olive”
The same questions in other papers
fertilization · yield · Olea europaea (common olive)Positive and negative results
3 papers in the same direction as this paper · 34 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
34 papers more in this group
See all 38 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.