How to feed a pear in spring: types of fertilizers
When to fertilize
Experienced gardeners say that the pear needs to be fed periodically. Thus, the tree will be provided with adequate nutrition, which is necessary to obtain an annual high-quality and bountiful harvest.
If you feed the pear correctly, then its fruiting will become regular. At the same time, experienced gardeners argue that top dressing should be done even if the fruit tree grows on fertile soil. This is necessary because even the most nutrient-rich soil is depleted over time. And this can affect not only the fruiting of trees, but also their viability. To restore soil fertility, you can use various substances depending on the type of fruit tree.
For a pear, soil replenishment should be started even before the moment of disembarkation. This will prepare the ground for planting seedlings and their further successful growth.
Many gardeners recommend applying nutrients in the fall. This fertilization will prepare the plant for hibernation and provide it with all the nutrients for proper wintering. Usually, in the fall, feeding is carried out along the perimeter of the crown projection, which is a mirror image of the pear root system.
In autumn, fertilization of the plant should be done after harvest. In this case, the degree of yellowing of the crown should be approximately 30% of the leaves. Top dressing for seedlings of the second year of growth must be made for digging.
In addition, in the fall, you can make certain blanks for feeding in the spring. Preparation for the introduction of tree nutrients in the spring should be done when the plant grows in peat or clay soils.
Spring feeding for pears is applied in the amount of 2/3 of the norm and it is aimed at ensuring that the tree normally leaves hibernation and can start the next growing season with renewed vigor. Top dressing applied in spring will help improve the quality of the upcoming harvest. Top dressing done correctly in the spring will provide the tree with everything it needs for a bountiful fall harvest.
The remaining 1/3 of the norm is recommended by gardeners in early summer. Although some disregard this recommendation, believing that the spring and autumn application of top dressing is quite enough for the pear not to lack nutrients and give a normal harvest, and its fruits are tasty and juicy.
How to feed
The pear can be fed with various fertilizers. The main thing is to choose their type correctly. The choice of the type of pear feeding should be made based on the following parameters:
- plant age;
- the appearance of the tree;
- season (spring or autumn);
- soil type.
In autumn, experts recommend applying potash and phosphate fertilizers. 
They are added along the perimeter of the crown to a depth of about 40-50 cm. It is especially good to introduce such substances simultaneously with organic matter. Experienced gardeners believe that this kind of recharge should be done every 5-6 years. This is quite enough for the normal life of the plant during this time period.The dose of fertilizer applied should be calculated based on the age of the tree, as well as the nutritional value of the soil in the place of growth.
Separately, organic fertilizers should be applied under the tree every 2-3 years. At the same time, nitrogen fertilizers are also very important for the normal growth and fruiting of the pear. They are introduced in the spring when the soil is loosened, as well as during the period when there is an increased growth of shoots.
In addition to these types of fertilizers, in a situation with a pear, foliar feeding is of no small importance. It is a solution of nutrients that act as a growth stimulant and contribute to an increase in winter hardiness, as well as the formation of tree productivity. This solution contains a 1-2% sulfate solution (it can be replaced with a 2-3% superphosphate solution).
Also described is the high efficiency of pear spraying with urea solution (0.5-1%). This spraying should be done 9-10 days after flowering is complete. Re-spraying is allowed after about two weeks.
You can determine what to fertilize the pear with by its external state:
- with a lack of nitrogen, leaf underdevelopment is observed. They are smaller and have a slightly light color;
- an excess of nitrogen in the soil is manifested by a decrease in the frost-resistant properties of the tree, as well as poor maturation;
- lack of phosphorus can be detected by the dropping of shoots on the lower part of the tree and the retention of flower buds. At the same time, the leaves also develop insufficiently;
- with a lack of potassium, the leaves turn brown and dry quickly. At the same time, they wrinkle;
- the lack of calcium in the soil is reflected in the leaves - they acquire spotting, which appears as a result of the death of tissue sections. To normalize the calcium content in the soil, it is advised to bring wood ash under the pear.
All these fertilizers are macrofertilizers. Focusing on the season and the condition of the tree, they are brought in in strictly regulated proportions. The fertilizer rate is taken per 1 sq. M. for the trunk circle. Usually it is 1-2 kg.
But pear fruit culture, in addition to macrofertilizers, also needs microfertilizers. They add important trace elements such as iron, manganese, zinc, etc. to the soil. They need to be chosen based on the composition of the soil, as well as on the external manifestations of the lack of elements.
In order to provide the pear with all the necessary trace elements, professional gardeners recommend using manure that contains phosphorus (0.25%), potassium (0.4%) and nitrogen (0.5%). But in this situation, it is worth more carefully using organic fertilizers (mullein, etc.) so as not to severely burn the plant.
In addition to the types of fertilizers already mentioned above, in modern gardening, complex fertilizing is used for pears: nitroammophos, ammophos, nitrophos, nitroammofosk, nitrophoska, etc.
Remember that the key to the yield and normal growth of the pear is the correct type of feeding.
How to do it right
Its effectiveness depends on how correctly the fertilizer was applied. Any type of top dressing has its own characteristics. For example, before planting, proper feeding involves digging up the earth at the place of future planting and applying mineral and organic fertilizers to it. In the same way, fertilizer should be applied to the planting pit. In this situation, you should avoid the use of potash and nitrogen fertilizing, which can damage the root system of the seedling. In this case, mineral fertilizers must be placed on the bottom of the pit.
When the fruit tree has taken root, then throughout its life cycle, fertilizer is applied by digging with the simultaneous introduction of the desired type of feeding. A prerequisite for feeding is the correct dose. You should be especially careful when applying manure, which has many beneficial micronutrients and macronutrients.Therefore, it should be diluted with water and watered with the resulting solution of the soil.
It is also worth knowing that you should not use several types of different nutrients at the same time. So you can get a fairly serious burn of the root system, which will lead to the death of the plant or a decrease in its vital functions. Spring, autumn and summer have their own type of fertilizer, which should be used for feeding.
The correct choice of fertilizer and its timely application will make your garden very fertile, and the harvest itself tasty and healthy. This statement applies not only to pears, but also to all other fruit trees.
Pear fertilization video
In this video, the expert talks about how and what exactly to fertilize fruit trees.