FLOWER ANALYSIS AS A NEW APPROACH TO DIAGNOSING THE NUTRITIONAL-STATUS OF THE PEACH-TREE

The chemical diagnosis of the nutritional status of peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) trees by leaf analysis is done too late to allow any deficiencies to be corrected, especially with early bearing varieties, The use of flower analysis would be it possible to detect and treat any deficiencies at an earlier stage. Based on the relationships found between nutrient concentration of flowers at full bloom and in leaves taken 60 and 120 days after full bloom (DAFB), we have established the following reference values for the interpretation of floral analyses of this crop: N = 2.91+/-0.27; P = 0.39+/-0.05; K = 1.70+/-0.26; Ca = 0.87+/-0.16; and Mg = 0.23+/-0.02 expressed as a percentage of the dry matter weight of flowers.