Role of nutrients by citrus growth stage
Find out which nutrients are most important at different growth stages.
Flowering
- Nitrogen - boost yield and tree productivity
- Phosphorus - maintain long-term productivity
- Potassium - establish good early growth
- Calcium - to aid leaf growth, pollination and fruit set
Fruit Set
- Nitrogen - maintain leaf growth, flowering and strong fruit set
- Potassium and Magnesium - continued strong growth
- Calcium - provide good fruit productivity and quality
- Sulfur - to improve fruit set and fruit retention
- Zinc, Manganese and Iron - to maintain fruit yield and quality (Mn and Zn should be applied with each leaf flush)
- Boron - minimize fruit drop, prevent fruit deformities or storage problems from peel breakdown
Fruit Enlargement and Maturation
- Nitrogen - maintain yields and improve skin thickness and fruit acidity
- Potassium - maximize fruit fill and fruit size, productivity, skin quality and vitamin C content and reduce granulation and fruit splitting
- Calcium - boost leaf growth and tree vigor and reduce skin disorders including fruit splitting and albedo breakdown
- Magnesium - maintain fruit fill, fruit size and condition
- Zinc - maintain fruit quality
- Molybdenum - improve juice content, quality and provide a thicker skin
- Copper - prevent fruit corking
- Manganese and Boron - maintain fruit yield
Post Harvest
- Nitrogen - to encourage active flush of foliage
- Phosphorus and Potassium - maintain long-term tree productivity
- Calcium - to maintain tree root health and productivity and to encourage leaf flush
- Iron, Manganese and Zinc - when needed for post harvest foliage flush