Do Your Grapes Show Potassium Deficiency?

Do Your Grapes Show Potassium Deficiency?

Susan Allen
Susan Allen
I'm Susan Allen with the Fruit Grower Report . Do your grapes have enough potassium? The latest issue of the Vit Tips called it one of the most important macro elements required for good vine productivity and high fruit quality." For new vineyard owners, now is the time to look for potassium deficiency according to As Ashraf El-Kereamy the University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor who authored the Vit Tip article. A severe deficiency, can first be dected right around bloom, and knowing the the chemical composition of the vineyard soil is key according to Cornell Extension viticulture specialist Hans Walter-Peterson:

Walter-Peterson: If the soil PH is in the right place it makes it a lot easier for the vines to take up the nutrients they need.

Knowing the PH is your starting point to understanding the mix of

What are the levels of macro-nutrients that are available in the soil?. So macro-nutrients are things like Potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous and nitrogen. So a soil test can give you a good sense of what those first four nutrients are the macro-nutrients.

Thanks, that's a great place to start and El Keramay recommends that before applying any potassium fertilizers, to check the bloom petiole potassium content because "a high level of potassium fertilizer while helping to improve vineyard productivity and fruit quality could negatively affect the uptake of other nutrients" and remember, this all starts with analyzing your soil nutrient levels.

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