Effect of formula fertilization on fruit quality and tree nutritional status of 'Qiuyue' pear

At present, there are many problems on fertilization in pear orchards, such as excessive chemical fertilizers, especially nitrogen, less or no organic fertilizer application, and nutritional elements' imbalance. These problems lead to the decrease of fruit quality and economic benefits, which directly hinders the healthy development of pear industry. Using 'Qiuyue' pear as materials, this paper evaluates the effects of five organic-inorganic formula fertilizer treatments through soil fertilization (i.e. formula fertilizer, formula fertilizer + N, formula fertilizer + P, formula fertilizer + K, and formula fertilizer + K + B) on fruit quality and tree nutritional status. The research aimed at selecting appropriate fertilizer formulas and providing a scientific basis for reasonable fertilization recommendation. Results were shown as follows: 1) The effects of formula fertilizers on fruit quality: the treatment of formula fertilizer had the best effects on improving fruit quality among the five treatments. Compared with other treatments, it increased soluble solids content (range: 0.77-1.71%), total sugar content (2.98-9.74%), sugar-acid ratio (2.92-21.85%), and single fruit weight (9.42-23.18%) and reduced titratable acidity 0-10% of 'Qiuyue' pear. 2) The effects of formula fertilizers on tree nutritional status: the treatment of formula fertilizer + K had the best effect on improving tree nutritional status among the tested five treatments. Compared with other treatments, the treatment of formula fertilizer + K increased branch length (9.75-17.76%) and branch diameter (5.76-9.86%) of the 'Qiuyue' pear.