FLORAL ANALYSIS AS AN EARLY PLANT ANALITICAL TOOL TO DIAGNOSE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF FRUIT TREES

A field experiment was conducted in an integrated apple orchard (Malus domesticaBorkh.) established on a lowland chernozem soil in East-Hungary, to investigate if flower analysis could be used to diagnose the nutritional status of the trees. In April 2007, during full bloom, flowers and leaves were collected. Leaves were again collected in August, at the standard sampling time from the same trees. The concentrations of nitrogen, phosporous and potassium were measured in flowers and leaves. Correlation analyses were carried out to establish the relations between nutrient contents in same and different plant parts. The N and P content of leaves was higher than in flowers at full bloom. The opposite was true for K. For all sampling dates, the range of N, P and K contents were wider in leaves than that found in flowers. Significant correlation was found between flower P and leaf P and flower K and leaf K at full bloom. Within flowers, the strongest correlation was found between flower N and P content. Significant, positive correlation was also found between leaf K and P at full bloom.