Why Fertilising Four Times a Year Is Necessary
Fertilising macadamia trees is a key requirement to maintain tree health. Often people are undecided on how to approach this method with what nutrients to apply and when is the best time.
Most soil testing is done during May after the trees have used all the nutrients required for the coming season as well have absorbed the build-up from the February application. When soil testing is done, it is usually done by the blocks on your farm with about 10 to 15 small samples collected across that block with leaf samples also collected.
Soil tests are then analysed by a registered soil testing facility, either a University lab or a fertilising company can test your soil results and either option is purely dependent on the person.
Generally, four times a year is a baseline for staying on top of your orchard health. The main times of the season to fertilise your farm are;
- June/July for preseason flowering
- September for pea-size nut set development
- December for nut oil accumulation
- February for the build-up of carbohydrates going into next flowering season.
It’s hard to understand and know what key nutrients are required to help produce the best nut set for the coming season. But a good rule of thumb is having balanced amounts of N, P, K during the four times per year you fertilise with trace elements also playing a key role in nut development.
February and June applications should have extra boron incorporated into your applications as this helps with the flowering and nut-set potential. All fertilising requirements should be subject to your soil analysis to determine what your soil needs are for the following 12 months.
The main benefit of fertilising your trees four times per year is it helps keep your trees healthy during stressful periods and helps keep an average production yield across the orchard year on year. The other main benefit is it helps through nut development, dry conditions and even too wet conditions as the nutrients in the ground from your fertilising supply the nutrients required for healthy nut development during the seasonal cycle.
With current prices that farmers are receiving from processors, there has never been a better time to invest in your orchard as the return has never been better.
I hope this helps with helping you on your way to a better understanding of tree health and making the most of your application timing.
Yours sincerely,
Garth Templeman
Grower Liaison
Waliz Nuts PTY LTD