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Topics - zands

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201
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Anyone else using Keyplex 350?
« on: June 07, 2013, 07:25:08 AM »
I have heard good things about it. It can help citrus if you soil is alkaline etc etc.
_Plus where can you buy this in Broward and Palm Beach counties?

202
Mark in Texas has said good things about it>>
It is used as a foliar and/or drench
I am about to order a quart or a gallon (possibly) to split with neighbors

INFOS

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/dyna-gro-foliage-pro-9-3-6/fertilizers

http://www.thehydrosource.com/dyna-gro-foliage-pro.html?___SID=U

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/view_reviews/2076/fertilizers

http://www.dyna-gro.com/936.htm

203
Fairchild encourages certain weeds and cover crops that produce bright, colorful flowers that bring in the pollinators. To enhance mango and fruit tree pollination. Thanks!

The theory is that mango blossoms don't look so attractive to bees so you encourage other plants/weeds that do. Maybe scent is also involved to bring in more pollinators.

204
Dangerous snarling fruit bandit gets nabbed with mango bait. A younger possum and I think just one from his family. Rats will get drowned but for possums I phone up The Transporter (Jason Statham) for his relocation services. Trap is a HavaHeart.





205
This is what someone theorized a few days ago. I see lots of second bloom tiny fruits. My Pim Sen Mung is putting up fresh panicles. The mango trees are confused this year. Will the tiny fruits grow into edible fruit? I have my doubts since we are now at April 2nd. Maybe we get smaller mangoes this year from the late bloomers. Maybe people will get 12 oz Lancetilla mangoes

As far as first bloom some mangoes will be ripe and edible on May first is my thinking.

206
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Any opinions on champagne loquat?
« on: March 28, 2013, 03:27:58 PM »
I happened to see a tree and tasted one of the fruits.  Anyone have info on how large the fruits grow and when they are ripe in South Florida. Thanks

How do you rate this variety?

207
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Does anyone thin out mangoes?
« on: February 18, 2013, 05:36:55 PM »
I have a tree that has too many (3,4,5) 1" fruits per panicle on some of the panicles. Should I thin or let nature do the thinning? It seems a waste of the trees resources to let them all keep growing until a few drop off

208
I have a Carrie tree that bloomed a lot but only has 15 fruits developing. In hopes of stimulating a second bloom I have clipped all non-producing panicles to half an inch. Hoping they will dry up sooner so they will fall off sooner. Making it easier for new panicles to come forth. I did this on some other mango trees too. This is an ideal year for wanting a second bloom, with trees here being highly variable in how many panicles were produced. Due to the warm winter.
We shall see.

209
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Getting rid of spiraling white fly (whitefly)
« on: January 08, 2013, 08:15:18 AM »
Here is some directions to get rid of them. Anyone tried them?
http://monroe.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/Hort/GLSW_Factsheet-Guide_for_HO.pdf

More information on this insect  http://monroe.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn/lawn_glsw.shtml

I never saw the actual white fly insects flying around until a few days ago around a banana plant. I cut it down and put it in the trash for collection. Some nearby mango trees where getting some black sooty leaves (just a few) due this banana plant which was their home.

So with warmer temperatures and spring coming I believe this insect will be on the increase. They make their telltale white spiral on the underside of leaves mostly leaves at the top of a plant. Then their gunk showers down onto lower leaves. This gunk is food for the black mold (that is always in our air in Florida due to humidity) which then feeds and forms on the top of leaves

210

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/01/04/filmfest-pullman-fruithunters/1810317/

Pullman's enthusiasm for living off the land prompted his appearance in a documentary, 'The Fruit Hunters,' debuting in Palm Springs this week.

Lots of people juggle careers. Bill Pullman has grafted his.

Pullman, who played the president of the United States in Independence Day, will play another U.S. president in the NBC comedy, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, debuting Jan. 10. But he's also included in Canadian director Yung Chang's documentary, The Fruit Hunters, because he's so involved in growing fruit on his 2 1/2-acre orchard below Hollywood's hillside sign.

The film, making its U.S. debut at the Palm Springs International Film Festival this week, tells the story of individuals who cultivate and go to extraordinary lengths to savor fruits few people have tasted.

MORE: The Desert Sun's Palm Springs International Film Festival coverage

Pullman, who grew up around an orchard in New York state, is one of those fruit hunters.

"Growing things and being able to live off the land has always appealed to me," he said in a phone call. "I think in California it really blossomed. This climate is sensational for growing a lot of different variety of rare fruit plants from other climates all year-round. That idea was intoxicating to me."

Pullman, 59, has grown over 100 different varieties of fruit, including four varieties of oranges, four of grapefruits, and many varieties of mandarins and tangerines.

"I would say the biggest surprise to me, the tree that I just find so cool (is) Persian mulberries," he said. "They're so fragile, the farmer's market will sometimes sell a single layer of them to gourmet chefs, but they're pretty pricey. But, if you stand under a tree and eat away, you just feel so lucky to have a sensation that very few people get to have."

Pullman is included in The Fruit Hunters with a shamanistic native fruit expert in Borneo, a Honduras scientist "racing against time" to breed a banana resistant to a devastating fungus and a 19th-century Chinese worker who cultivated the Bing cherry before being deported under the anti-Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. But Pullman provides a sense of drama when he galvanizes his community to work with a government agency to buy some Hollywood orchard property slated for development.

That effort failed, but the neighbors still get together for what Pullman calls a "picking kitchen."

"This picking kitchen is really going back to threshing bees (ceremonies to celebrate the threshing of a crop) — just pitching in to do something together outside and learn about fruit," he said. "We had one in May about loquats (a yellowish fruit grown mostly in Japan). Most of the people had never eaten one before. We have a lot of loquat trees in the canyon that we identified, and we picked them and harvested them and made sauce out of them. A lot of people get to feel like a farmer, even if it's just for four hours on a Saturday."

Pullman found himself in the middle of what he calls a zeitgeist of interest about sustainability and community. They exchange ideas at these picking kitchens that are quite sophisticated.

"This whole climate change and what it's doing to our environment is frightening to people," he said, "and to have a forum where they're discussing things like this, it's very rewarding. The Asian psyllid (an aphid-like insect) is moving up. It could destroy a lot of citrus trees. There's the whole whirling disease (infecting fish with parasites) and you've got colony collapse (caused by the mass disappearance of worker honey bees). Getting the word out for people to share knowledge is important. I think it begins in people's neighborhoods."

Pullman was organizing picking kitchens and saving the hillside while his acting career also was in full bloom. He did a TV movie called The Innocent in August and September 2011 and promoted his TV series Torchwood in that fall. He also shot The Fruit Hunters that fall before doing an L.A. play called The Jacksonian with Ed Harris.

"When we continued the picking kitchens, it was extremely emotional — all these things we did in the spring," said Pullman. "(Chang) had gone to Borneo and was doing other things, but I was doing the play and getting up in the morning on Saturdays and doing the Farmer's Circle, and then doing a matinee and evening show. That was a crazed period."

But he found calm savoring the flavor of his fruit. "It's all about the heightening consciousness of flavor and experience of life," Pullman said.

211
Tropical Fruit Discussion / The No.1 Food on the Planet
« on: December 01, 2012, 08:31:16 PM »
The No.1 Food on the Planet

Attention Carlos in Homestead!  :)

212
NPK fertilizer
I put some is a jar with enough water 3 days ago. Only 20% dissolved. I put it in a Vita-Mix blender to make dissolve quicker. Still not dissolved. Anyone know what the most soluble components are with a standard 10-10-10 fertilizer? The nitrogen, potassium or phosphate?


213
Me being in Broward county. From here the 8 weeks of June-July are the height of the mango season. Some slight variation each year of course.
Is this accurate for South East Florida counties meaning Dade, Broward, Palm Beach counties? It is good to establish this peak when we get overwhelmed with mangoes and can't even give them away. This way you can plant some trees that are outside the peak such as Gold Nugget which is August

West Coast of South Florida counties must be about the same time table. The West Coast is slightly cooler than East Coast? Naples, Collier County, Florida must be prime mango territory but I never hear any reports from there. I know we have Fort Meyers members. I hear that St Petersburg has numerous backyard mango trees

214
Does it make sense to plant a type A flower avocado tree and a type B flower avocado tree to enhance pollination and fruit set? Should you have one of each tree? They would have to blossom at the same time. For example -- Brogdon has flower B is and Lula has A. If this makes sense then how close should the trees be?

Avocado flowering and pollination http://ucanr.org/sites/alternativefruits/files/121264.pdf

215
Tropical Fruit Discussion / When Van Dyke mango gets ripe in SE Florida
« on: October 05, 2012, 09:52:58 AM »
http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/mango/van-dyke-mango.shtml
Pine Island says it is ripe July to August. Can anyone say when their own Van Dyke mango tree gets ripe? With all the spring wind bursts last year I got only one fruit off this young tree and it was unpalatable. I just might move this tree. Where I move this tree to. When the Van Dyke fruit gets ripe affects which new spot I move it to...or not move it at all.

216
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mini-mangoes in Vietnam
« on: September 08, 2012, 01:56:10 PM »
This is from the Daley's nursery facebook page. Daley's is outside of Brisbane Ausralia. Are these mangoes or ma-prang?

from facebook>>>
I don’t know which cultivar they are or where they are grown; I buy the fruit in the market here in Nth Vietnam. The fruit might come from Sth Vietnam or could be imported from China or other SE Asian countries. I’d like establish some of these trees in Australia so if anyone knows if they are available in Australia, please let me know.
April 5, 2011 at 12:14am · Like





https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1535606764971&set=o.136114716791&type=3&theater

217
Big Jim Loquat -- any Florida nurseries that have it?

I have wild or seedling loquats near me I can forage that are landscape plantings at a condominium complex.  But it would be nice to have a larger variety at home. Thanks!


Jim Neitzel, considered by many to be the dean of San Diego County rare fruit growers. This man bred and came up with this large loquat named after him.
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/aug/22/cover-made-san-diego/?page=2

More on the Big Jim http://hanburyhouse.com/big-jim-loquat/
 
You can see how large it is compared to a USA quarter. The feral ones I can get are the size of a quarter or a bit more.


  zzzZZZZ




218
Tropical Fruit Discussion / September Keitt tree says extend don't pretend
« on: September 03, 2012, 11:33:44 AM »
Extending the mango season
September 3rd today and my neighbor said it was the best year his 20ft Keiit tree had. His tree is about 10 years old. Only had 6 fruits last year so it must have been saving for this year. There are still 50-60 fruits on the tree. My guess is these last fruits are 15% of the total which I have seen earlier. One fruit was eaten by animals....Going to clean it up and try it later





Photo above you can see perennial peanut as a ground cover here. His backyard is covered by it and boniato vines too in a small section. His peanut comes from the great Bill Whitman's yard when he visited years ago with the Broward rare fruit club. Just one peanut sample from Mr Whitman's yard is what Keitt neighbor started with. http://www.amazon.com/Decades-Tropical-Fruit-William-Whitman/dp/0971140200/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346687252&sr=8-1&keywords=bill+whitman+fruit



More Keitt tree yard pix




219
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Papaya pugging
« on: August 02, 2012, 10:15:16 AM »
I have three papayas that were left in pots too long. They were getting tall and leggy without many leaves. So I pugged them yesterday. They have no leaves now. They are one inch diameter where I pugged. Should I protect the top with an aluminum foil cap secured with a rubber band? Because water will pool at the top and maybe rot it? Papayas are segmented like bamboo and water will pool in the tippy top since I pugged

Should I just let them be?
If I can get some leaf growth I will be planting them

Thanks!

220
Lets face it, you may have a diverse collection with lots of nice tastes but they mostly came in, in a 7 week period from late May  to July 15th (roughly speaking). The peak of South Florida mango season is over. Most of your trees are finished for the year. At this moment I have no ripe mangoes to eat (kind of pissed) though I do have a Kent tree with a few unripe ones. Reason I am asking is to fill in this gap.

I have a Gold Nugget but the fruits are 3-4 weeks away
Neelam but a month away from ripeness

What mangoes do you have right now that you can eat and for the next few weeks into mid August. You can call these mid season mangoes or mid to late season mangoes. Thanks!  :)

221
Tropical Fruit Discussion / 10 Health Benefits of Mangos
« on: July 20, 2012, 07:21:03 PM »
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-health-benefits-of-mangos.html

Mangos taste so good that people forget they are also healthy!  Discover how the “king of fruits” can help you, plus fascinating trivia and a few mango cautions and concerns.

Health Benefits:

1.  Prevents Cancer:
Research has shown antioxidant compounds in mango fruit have been found to protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers. These compounds include quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat, as well as the abundant enzymes.

2.  Lowers Cholesterol:
The high levels of fiber, pectin and vitamin C help to lower serum cholesterol levels, specifically Low-Density Lipoprotein (the bad stuff)

3.  Clears the Skin:
Can be used both internally and externally for the skin. Mangos clear clogged pores and eliminate pimples. (Read more on page 5.)

4.  Eye Health:
One cup of sliced mangoes supplies 25 percent of the needed daily value of vitamin A, which promotes good eyesight and prevents night blindness and dry eyes.

5.  Alkalizes the Whole Body:
The tartaric acid, malic acid, and a trace of citric acid found in the fruit help to maintain the alkali reserve of the body.

6. Helps in Diabetes:
Mango leaves help normalize insulin levels in the blood.  The traditional home remedy involves boiling leaves in water, soaking through the night and then consuming the filtered decoction in the morning. Mango fruit also have a relatively low glycemic index (41-60) so moderate quantities will not spike your sugar levels.

7. Improved Sex:
Mangos are a great source of vitamin E. Even though the popular connection between sex drive and vitamin E was originally created by a mistaken generalization on rat studies, further research has shown balanced proper amounts (as from whole food) does help in this area.


8. Improves Digestion:
Papayas are not the only fruit that contain enzymes for breaking down protein. There are several fruits, including mangoes, which have this healthful quality. The fiber in mangos also helps digestion and elimination.

9. Remedy for Heat Stroke
Juicing the fruit from green mango and mixing with water and a sweetener helps to cool down the body and prevent harm to the body. From an ayurvedic viewpoint, the reason people often get diuretic and exhausted when visiting equatorial climates is because the strong “sun energy” is burning up your body, particularly the muscles.  The kidneys then become overloaded with the toxins from this process.

10. Boosts Immune system
The generous amounts of vitamin C and vitamin A in mangos, plus 25 different kinds of carotenoids keep your immune system healthy and strong



222
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Mostly front yard photos
« on: July 18, 2012, 11:59:45 AM »
A few photos from my front yard mostly.



old pine tree just cut down by my friend and I. The seedling mango on the right was being shaded by it, as you can tell from the way the branches grew where there was more sun shining on the mango's right side


pine sap oozing out of stump


desert rose -- adinium




front yard streetwise banana fruiting


my best shaped tree -- 10 ft high Carrie planted 2008, a 3 gallon from Lowe's. It would be larger but I did not fertilize in 2008,2009,2010 due to imbibing Fairchild garden advice to only give mangoes potassium


Planted last week....Lula avocado. Looks awful due to being in pot to long because I did not know where to plant it. To revive this I planted it with lots of Walmart $1.40 composted cow manure which is 50% sand (I measured it) anyway. Also gave it Excalibur 8-3-9 on planting day. Lots of nitrogen I know


Red Jamaican given to me. Hard to tell but two small pups in this photo. About 18" tall. I am looking forward to this getting large and beautifying my front yard. Small edible bananas too.


Muscadine on wire trellis. Ison black variety from bought at Bender's Grove tag said Pine Island nursery..... plus another unknown variety muscadine from Home Depot. I cemented in these wood posts. It is a continuation of the neighbor's ficus hedge with its invasive roots which I will deal with. Neighbor's bananas in the background.


Pina Colada mango. A Zill from Jeff Hagen. Looks scraggly but give it time



Hey you get offa my cloud and get offa my lawn. These signs come down when the mangoes are finished. Gold nugget aka golden nugget mango. Birds like to stand on mangoes and peck downward at the fruit. So I placed CD's on the mangoes to try and prevent


south facing wall muscadine. Southland variety bought at Bender's Grove plus a Home Depot unknown muscadine


I propped up this fruiting banana. Do it early before your tree keels over from weight of fruits. As the banana bunch gets larger it will pull down your tree. Also after all the young bananas have shown themselves, cut off the remaining red thing hanging from them. This "red thing" takes food from your bananas and helps weigh down, pull down your banana plant




224
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Iron Sulfate foliar sprays for chlorosis
« on: July 11, 2012, 07:39:37 AM »
Impacts
Application of chelated iron to the soil has become a standard practice for growing tropical and subtropical fruit trees in calcareous soils. However, chelated iron is extremely expensive. In subtropical and tropical fruit orchards in south Florida, chelated iron can represent up to 80% of the total fertilizer cost and up to 50% of the total agricultural chemical costs for subtropical and tropical fruit production. There is obviously a need for a cheaper alternative to the application of chelated iron for preventing or alleviating iron deficiency in fruit crops grown in calcareous soils. Foliar applications of weak acids or weak acids combined with iron sulfate is a much cheaper alternative to chelated iron for preventing iron deficiencies in subtropical fruit and tropical fruit crops. Thus there is the potential to significantly reduce production costs thereby making the subtropical and tropical fruit industry more globally competitive. In addition to the tremendous costs associated with soil applications of chelated iron, soil applied iron chelates can be easily leached from the root zone if irrigation is excessive. Leaching of chelated iron away from the root zone not only wastes very costly iron fertilizer, but also has the potential for polluting the groundwater aquifer, which in south Florida is only a few meters below the soil surface. Therefore, in addition to potential huge financial savings, this research has the potential to reduce environmental pollution from leaching of soluble iron from the soil into the groundwater.

More here>>>>>>

http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/0203864-foliar-acid-applications-to-prevent-iron-deficiency-in-tropical-fruit-crops-grown-in-calcareous-soils.html


Summary>>>
A foliar of iron sulfate plus an acid such as citric or sulfuric can be very effective and less expensive than the iron chelates used at the roots or as a foliar. Chelated iron can be 80% of fertilizer expenses in tropical and subtropical fruit orchards











Here is the rest of this study>>>>




Goals / Objectives
The overall objective of this project will be to evaluate foliar applications of weak (citric, ascorbic and dilute sulfuric) acids as cost-effective alternatives to the current standard practice of applying very expensive chelated iron to calcareous soil to prevent iron deficiency in tropical and subtropical fruit trees. The specific hypotheses to be tested are: 1)foliar applications of weak acids will decrease the pH of the leaf apoplast of trees grown in calcareous soils, thus increasing the bioavailability of iron and preventing or eliminating iron deficiency 2)incorporating the spraying of weak acids into an orchard management program will provide a more cost effective means of preventing iron deficiency in subtropical and tropical fruit crops than the current practice of applying chelated iron to the soil.
Project Methods
Greenhouse experiments will be conducted with common commercial cultivars of one to two-year-old avocado (Persea americana Mill.), carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.), lychee (Lychi chinensis L.)and pond apple (Annona glabra L.) trees. Plants will be purchased from commercial nurseries. Trees will be transplanted from the nursery media into pots containing Krome very gravelly loam soil that has been collected in the field at TREC. After three months, trees of each species will be divided into the following treatments: 1) foliar application of ascorbic acid and no iron applied to the soil, 2) foliar application of citric acid and no iron applied to the soil, 3) foliar application of dilute sulfuric acid and no iron applied to the soil, 4) no foliar application and no iron applied to the soil, and 5) no foliar acid application and chelated iron applied to the soil at a recommended rate (0.5 oz/tree). Orchard experiments will also be conducted at TREC with avocado (cv. Booth 7 on seedling rootstocks), carambola (cv. Arkin on Goldenstar rootstock) and lychee (cv. Brewster). Treatments applied to orchard trees will be the same as those applied to the plants in the greenhouse except that foliar sprays will be applied to orchard trees every two weeks with an air-blast sprayer for two consecutive years. In greenhouse and orchard experiments, leaf chlorophyll index will be measured periodically from mature (hardened off) and young (recently fully expanded) leaves of each tree with a SPAD chlorophyll meter. The pH of the leaf apoplast will be measured with an ion-selective microelectrode. Concentrations of Fe3+ and Fe2+ and total extractable iron in the leaves and total extractable iron in the soil will be determined in the greenhouse and orchard experiments. Immediately before imposing treatments and one year after treatments are applied, height and trunk diameter of trees in each treatment in the greenhouse will be measured. Greenhouse trees will harvested about one year after initial treatment applications and dry weights of leaves stems and roots of plants in each treatment will be determined. In the orchard experiment, trunk diameter (10 cm above the soil surface) will be measured before treatments are imposed, after one year and just prior to termination of the experiment. Fruit from trees in each treatment in the orchard will be harvested when fruit are mature and fruit number and weight per tree will be determined. Economic analyses will be performed at each stage of the assessment to ensure that the technologies tested and generated are cost effective and sustainable.
Progress 09/15/06 to 09/14/07

Outputs
The following treatments were applied to carambola, lychee and avocado trees in orchards in southern Florida: 1) foliar application of ascorbic acid - 2 g/L, 2) foliar application of citric acid - 2 g/L, 3) foliar application of sulfuric acid - 100 mg/L, 4) foliar application of ascorbic acid plus iron sulfate 5) foliar application of citric acid plus iron sulfate, 6) foliar application of sulfuric acid plus iron sulfate, 7) chelated iron applied to the soil, and 8) no iron or acid applied to the plants. However, treatments 2 and in an avocado orchard, trees received all treatments except for treatments 1 and 3. In the carambola and lychee orchards all foliar applications of acid plus iron sulfate resulted in leaves that were as green or greener (as determined with a SPAD meter) than those of the soil-applied iron treatment and greener than the control treatment that received no iron applications to the foliage or soil. The effects of the acid plus ferrous sulfate treatment were greatest with ascorbic and sulfuric acids for both species. The effects of foliar sprays on re-greening of leaves were first visibly detectable after two foliar applications of acids plus ferrous sulfate. For carambola and lychee, total leaf iron concentration and ferrous iron concentration in the leaves were greater for all of the acid plus iron foliar applications and soil iron application treatment than the controls or the acid only foliar treatments. There were no statistically significant differences in sap pH among treatments. Treatments in the avocado orchard were initiated later than treatments in the lychee and carambola orchard because it took time for avocado trees in an orchard to become sufficiently chlorotic for the study. In the avocado orchard, after six treatments, foliar sprays of ascorbic acid plus iron sulfate resulted in leaves that were as green as those of plants receiving soil applications of chelated iron. There were no statistically significant differences in leaf sap pH among treatments. However, ferrous iron concentrations in the leaves were greater in the soil applied iron or foliar acid plus iron treatments than in all other treatments. Total leaf iron concentration in avocado was highest for the sulfuric acid plus ferrous sulfate and citric acid plus ferrous sulfate than the other treatments. Preliminary economic analysis for carambola, lychee and avocado orchards indicated that foliarly applied acids plus ferrous iron is a much cheaper alternative to the current standard practice of applying chelated iron to the soil.

Impacts
Application of chelated iron to the soil has become a standard practice for growing tropical and subtropical fruit trees in calcareous soils. However, chelated iron is extremely expensive. In subtropical and tropical fruit orchards in south Florida, chelated iron can represent up to 80% of the total fertilizer cost and up to 50% of the total agricultural chemical costs for subtropical and tropical fruit production. There is obviously a need for a cheaper alternative to the application of chelated iron for preventing or alleviating iron deficiency in fruit crops grown in calcareous soils. Foliar applications of weak acids or weak acids combined with iron sulfate is a much cheaper alternative to chelated iron for preventing iron deficiencies in subtropical fruit and tropical fruit crops. Thus there is the potential to significantly reduce production costs thereby making the subtropical and tropical fruit industry more globally competitive. In addition to the tremendous costs associated with soil applications of chelated iron, soil applied iron chelates can be easily leached from the root zone if irrigation is excessive. Leaching of chelated iron away from the root zone not only wastes very costly iron fertilizer, but also has the potential for polluting the groundwater aquifer, which in south Florida is only a few meters below the soil surface. Therefore, in addition to potential huge financial savings, this research has the potential to reduce environmental pollution from leaching of soluble iron from the soil into the groundwater.

Publications
Crane, J.H., B. Schaffer, W. Montas. 2007. Effect of ascorbic acid plus ferrous sulfate on leaf greeness of carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) Trees. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. (in press).Crane, J.H., B. Schaffer, Y.C. Li, E.A. Evans, W. Montas, C. Li. 2007. Effect of foliarly-applied acids and ferrous sulfate on iron nutrition of avocado trees. Proc. VI World Avocado Congress, Vina del Mar, Chile (in press).
Progress 09/15/05 to 09/14/06

Outputs
For subtropical and tropical fruit crops in calcareous soil, foliar applications of weak acids with or without iron sulfate were tested as alternatives to applying expensive chelated iron to calcareous soil to prevent iron deficiency. In a greenhouse study, avocado (Persea americana), carambola, (Averrhoa carambola), lychee (Litchi chinensis), and pond apple (Annona glabra) trees in pots containing calcareous soil received the following treatments: 1) foliar application of ascorbic acid - 2 g/L, 2) foliar application of citric acid - 2 g/L, 3) foliar application of sulfuric acid - 100 mg/L, 4) foliar application of ascorbic acid plus iron sulfate 5) foliar application of citric acid plus iron sulfate, 6) foliar application of sulfuric acid plus iron sulfate, 7) chelated iron applied to the soil, and 8) no iron or acid applied to the plants. The same treatments were applied to carambola, lychee and avocado trees in orchards. However, because deionized water was used for greenhouse treatments and well water was used for orchard treatments, the concentrations of acids were adjusted for the orchard treatments to achieve the same pH as in the greenhouse experiments. Various spreader/stickers were tested with each acid plus iron sulfate formulation prior to initiating the treatments. All spreader/stickers tested except Freeway resulted in brown spots on the foliage indicating poor spreading and absorption of iron. Therefore, Freeway was added to all of the foliar treatments. Also, prior to initiating treatments, all treatments were tested for phytotoxicity and none was observed. Treatments were applied at 2-3 week intervals. Leaf chlorophyll index, a measure of leaf greenness, was measured periodically from five mature and five young leaves of each tree with a SPAD chlorophyll meter. The pH of the leaf sap, total iron concentrations in the leaves and soil and ferrous iron concentrations in the leaves were determined periodically. For carambola and lychee trees in the greenhouse and orchards, all foliar applications of acid plus iron sulfate resulted in leaves that were as green or greener than those of the soil-applied iron treatment and greener than leaves of the controls. All foliar acid treatments without iron resulted in leaves that were slightly greener than the controls but not as green as the other treatments. In the greenhouse study, avocado and pond apple in the control treatment did not show any symptoms of iron chlorosis, so there were no significant effects of the foliar acid treatments with or without iron sulfate. Avocado treatments in an orchard have just been initiated and data will be collected soon. Leaf and soil iron concentrations are still being analyzed from greenhouse and orchard studies. Preliminary economic analysis indicated that foliarly applied acids plus ferrous iron is a much cheaper alternative to the current standard practice of applying chelated iron to the soil.

Impacts
Application of chelated iron to the soil has become a standard practice for growing tropical and subtropical fruit trees in calcareous soils. However, chelated iron is extremely expensive. In subtropical and tropical fruit orchards in south Florida, chelated iron can represent up to 80% of the total fertilizer cost and up to 50% of the total agricultural chemical costs for subtropical and tropical fruit production. There is obviously a need for a cheaper alternative to the application of chelated iron for preventing or alleviating iron deficiency in fruit crops grown in calcareous soils. Foliar applications of weak acids or weak acids combined with iron sulfate is a much cheaper alternative to chelated iron for preventing iron deficiencies in subtropical fruit and tropical fruit crops. Thus there is the potential to significantly reduce production costs thereby making the subtropical and tropical fruit industry more globally competitive. In addition to the tremendous costs associated with soil applications of chelated iron, soil applied iron chelates can be easily leached from the root zone if irrigation is excessive. Leaching of chelated iron away from the root zone not only wastes very costly iron fertilizer, but also has the potential for polluting the groundwater aquifer, which in south Florida is only a few meters below the soil surface. Therefore, in addition to potential huge financial savings, this research has the potential to reduce environmental pollution from leaching of soluble iron from the soil into the groundwater.

Publications
Publications

    Crane, J.H., B. Schaffer, W. Montas. 2007. Effect of ascorbic acid plus ferrous sulfate on leaf greeness of carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) Trees. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. (in press).
    Crane, J.H., B. Schaffer, Y.C. Li, E.A. Evans, W. Montas, C. Li. 2007. Effect of foliarly-applied acids and ferrous sulfate on iron nutrition of avocado trees. Proc. VI World Avocado Congress, Vina del Mar, Chile (in press).

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Iron deficiency is a major problem of many tropical tree species grown in calcareous soils. Applying chelated iron to calcareous soil is efficacious but very expensive. The effects of foliarly applied organic acids and organic acids plus ferrous sulphate (Fe) on iron nutrition of avocado, carambola and lychee trees in calcareous soil was investigated in southern Florida. Trees in orchard and greenhouse studies received the following foliar treatments: ascorbic acid (AA alone), ascorbic acid plus FS (AA+Fe), citric acid plus FS (CA+Fe), and sulphuric acid plus (SA+Fe). Additional treatments were chelated iron (EDDHA-Fe) applied to the soil 3 times at 27-28 day intervals and a control receiving no iron or acid (CNT). All foliar treatments included the organosilicone adjuvant, Freeway. Later, additional tests were conducted comparing soil applications of chelated iron to foliar applications of ferrous iron with and without the organosilcone adjuvant and the solution adjusted to various pHs. Data collection included total and ferrous iron content in leaves, leaf greenness as determined with a SPAD meter, plant growth, and yield. In general, applications of weak organic acids were only slightly effective at reducing iron deficiency. However, foliar applications of iron sulphate combined with the organosilicone adjuvant was almost as effective at preventing or eliminating iron deficiency as soil applications of chelated iron. Foliar applications of ferrous sulphate with no adjuvant were not effective at preventing iron deficiency and all other adjuvants tested resulted in phytotoxicity or poor absorption of foliarly applied iron. Economic analysis indicated that foliar acid-iron treatments were about 60 to 88% less costly than soil applications of chelated iron. Further tests are underway to determine the best application rates and timing of foliar sprays for preventing iron deficiency to tropical fruit crops growing in calcareous soil. Future studies will also focus on a combining of soil applications of chelated iron with foliar iron sulphate sprays to determine if combining the two would be the best compromise between cost effectiveness and prevention of iron deficiency. Results have been disseminated to growers and extension workers through workshops, field demonstrations, presentations at state, national and international horticultural meetings and publications in non-refereed journals. Results will eventually be published in refereed journals after some additional data are collected. PARTICIPANTS: Bruce Schaffer, P.I., Project coordinator and designer. Responsible for oversight of all aspects of the project Yuncong Li, Co-PI., Coordinator of nitrogen analysis. Jonathan Crane, Co-P.I., Management of field applications and field data collection Chunfang Li, Senior Biologist, Assisted with data collection and data analysis and maintenance of experimental plots. Wanda Montas, Senior Biologist, Assisted with data collection Mike Gutierrez, Research Technician, Assisted with data collection TARGET AUDIENCES: Tropical fruit growers and extension personnel in areas with calcareous agricultural soils. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The methodology for sap pH collection was too variable to be scientifically useful. Therefore, data for this variable was not collected after the first year. During the first 2 years of the study, there were several hurricanes and storms that significantly reduced fruit yields in the field. Therefore, yield data was not collected until the last year for the study. however, we will continue treatments and continue to collect yield data for at least 2 years after this study is terminated.

Impacts
Application of chelated iron to the soil has become a standard practice for growing tropical and subtropical fruit trees in calcareous soils. However, chelated iron is extremely expensive. In subtropical and tropical fruit orchards in south Florida, chelated iron can represent up to 80% of the total fertilizer cost and up to 50% of the total chemical cost for subtropical and tropical fruit production. There is obviously a need for a lower cost alternative to the application of chelated iron for preventing or alleviating iron deficiency in tropical and subtropical fruit trees grown in calcareous soils. Thus there is potential to significantly reduce production costs and thereby make the subtropical and tropical fruit industry more globally competitive. In addition to the tremendous costs associated with applications of chelated iron to orchards, chelated iron can be leached from the root zone if irrigation is excessive. Leaching of chelated iron away from the root zone not only was very costly iron fertilizer, but also has the potential for polluting the groundwater aquifer, which in south Florida is only a few meters below the soil surface. Therefore, in addition to potentially huge financial savings, this research has the potential to reduce environmental pollution from leaching of soluble iron from the soil into the groundwater.[/size][/font][/left]

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