[Arid_gardener] Re: Citrus fertilizer and Split Fruit

[Olin Miller]

Determine the total nitrogen required per year for the age and size of your
trees from  "MC91" , excerpt at
http://home.att.net/~millero/MC91-FertilizingCitrusChart.pdf
The amount of nitrogen per pound of fertilizer is determined from the
percentage of nitrogen, e. g., for ammonium sulfate, NPK = 21-0-0, each
pound of fertilizer contains 0.21 lbs of nitrogen (3.36 oz of N ) per lb.
Divide the total into 3 equal parts and apply the 1/3 in February , May and
December.  It is best to err on the side of too little rather than too much.

The splitting is probably not due to fertilizer or the lack thereof.  In the
hot summer, the fruit becomes stressed from the heat and often, too little
water and forms a hard protective peel.  Then when the spurt of growth
occurs when the weather cools, the fruit will try to expand but can't due to
its hard skin and will often split..  The best practice to reduce the
splitting problem is to apply water uniformly and adequately during the hot
summer months.

Olin Miller, Master Gardener Volunteer
U of A Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County AZ
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----- Original Message ----- From: <rmanley9 at cox.net>
Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 9:18 AM
> Richard,  85205
> When to fertilize and how much for tangerine and orange fruit trees.  Our
> tangerines stay very small, split, and fall off the tree so can't be
> eaten.