Every experienced gardener knows that for a bountiful harvest, lush flowering and health of fruit and berry, vegetable crops, periodic feeding of the soil is necessary. Fertilizers help plants create a strong root system, as well as be more resistant to various types of diseases. The main thing is to determine when and what kind of feeding is suitable for a particular crop.

Its useful to note! Both the lack of nutrients in the soil and their excess can be harmful, so you should be careful not to overdo it in the application of fertilizers.

The need for feeding

An apple tree can grow in one area of ​​an orchard for several millennia. Accordingly, the soil on which it grows is depleted over time, which leads to a deterioration in yield and fruit quality. Therefore, apple trees must be fed, especially during the growing season.

Top dressing of apple trees in spring with urea

Top dressing of fruit trees in spring is an important condition for a plentiful and healthy harvest. With the onset of warm days, experienced gardeners begin to prepare fertilizers for a full and healthy nutrition of apple trees.

It is usually recommended to start feeding trees with fertilizers after three years from the moment of planting the seedling. The soil is fertilized several times a year:

  1. Before flowering. It is carried out with the beginning of the growing season. The root system is fed. For this purpose, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are most suitable;
  2. During the flowering period. Top dressing begins when the flower clusters begin to bloom. It is important to have time to fertilize at the beginning of budding. Only the root is fed;
  3. After flowering. Occurs when the fruit is being poured.

Important! After the amount of nutrients is replenished, the apple tree's yield will increase, and its disease resistance will improve.

Urea for soil fertilization and against pests

One of the most famous and effective means for fertilizing the soil among gardeners is urea (carbamide). Fertilizing apple trees in spring with urea is an excellent and quick way to improve the soil and increase nutrients.

Top dressing of apple trees in spring

Urea is a mineral fertilizer with a high nitrogen content. Outwardly, carbamide resembles crystals of white or pale yellow color. Urea has no aroma; when interacting with water, it will instantly dissolve.

Typically, manufacturers pack urea in the form of granules so that it does not cake and spreads evenly over the soil. Due to the fact that carbamide contains a lot of nitrogen, it is quickly absorbed by the tree. Urea is a synthetic fertilizer made from ammonia and carbon dioxide. In this regard, the cost of urea is slightly higher than the price of other fertilizers.

Practically at any time of the year, it can be used to process fruit trees (apple trees, pears). In the spring, it is used as protection against various diseases and pests. In the summer (usually in mid-June) it is used as a top dressing, in the fall - for the purpose of prevention. It is not recommended to use urea in winter.

Important! Urea is used not only as a solution that fertilizes the soil, but also as an effective agent that can fight various types of pests.

Sprinkling apple trees in spring with urea

This tool is perfect for fighting insects such as:

  • aphid;
  • honeydew;
  • weevil;
  • apple blossom beetle.

Treatment of apple trees in the spring for diseases and pests with urea is very popular among farmers. It is advisable to begin to destroy pests during their wintering, when the air temperature rises above 6 degrees. The trunks of fruit trees are sprayed with a solution at the rate of 60 grams. for 1 liter of water.

When pests penetrate the bark of an apple tree, they can also be eliminated with a concentrated urea solution.

Also, feeding will help protect the apple trees from the following diseases:

  • purple spotting;
  • burns
  • scab.

It is necessary to prepare a solution in the proportion: 500 gr. urea per 10 liters of water. They are sprayed with fruit trees, the leaves of which are spoiled by diseases. Such a procedure is carried out at the end of autumn, before the start of frost.

Spraying apple trees (description, diagram)

Consider how to feed apple trees with urea.

Watering apple trees in spring

Urea is one of the best and most effective fertilizers for apple trees. Feeding in the form of granules is well absorbed, increasing the amount of nutrients, gradually turning into ammonium carbonate. The process takes place quite quickly - in 1.5-2 days after fertilization.

At the time when ammonium interacts with air, a certain part of it decomposes, and it becomes gaseous. If fertilizer is applied on top, then nitrogen is lost.

The advantage of top dressing is the ability to apply it on any land. Before you start fertilizing the soil, it is advisable to moisten it - this way the nitrogen will be better fixed.

It is important to know! It is forbidden to mix carbamide with superphosphate, chalk or lime.

Foliar top dressing is resorted to as needed. With its help, it is possible to increase the yield by 40%. The buds, crown of fruit trees are sprayed for the purpose of preventive and therapeutic measures against various diseases and pests.

Foliar processing

If signs of nitrogen starvation are found, foliar feeding with urea of ​​apple trees is also necessary. This procedure is carried out by spraying the tree in the morning or evening.

Before preparing the solution, you must carefully study the instructions for use of urea. Most often, manufacturers indicate numbers, and the scales are not always at hand in order to find out exactly how much substance you need to put. Therefore, the amount of urea can be determined as follows: 10 grams - 1 tbsp. spoon, 13 gr. - full matchbox, 130 gr. - standard 200-gram glass.

If it is necessary to sprinkle the apple tree during the ripening of apples, fertilizing is scattered on the soil surface at a rate of 270 grams. Then the urea is poured with water.

Its useful to note! It is necessary to spray the agent carefully, avoiding contact with leaf plates and tree buds. If top dressing comes into contact with foliage, it can cause burns.

For young apple trees 0.3% of urea is used, for mature ones - 0.5%. It is easiest to spray a columnar apple tree, because it is easiest to get around it. However, you should be careful about the shoots and bark, so as not to cause burns with an overly concentrated solution. Therefore, before using the solution, it is recommended to conduct a test: apply the substance to several branches, remember them and see the result in a couple of days. If the branches of the apple tree are damaged, then they can be cut off, while the whole apple tree remains intact. For this type of experiment, it is desirable to select sufficiently young shoots, because older ones have thicker bark.

Some inexperienced gardeners use urea in an irrational way - they throw the substance on the snow or in the rain. There is a misconception that in this way the fertilizer will penetrate the ground better, but this statement is erroneous. Sediments wash out urea, and it does not have time to reach deep soil layers.