Choosing the Right Soil for Your Honeycrisp Block

Which soils are the Honeycrisp soils? Those we used to call “McIntosh soils’

We know that many soils that are not perfect can be managed and modified to grow good apples. But not all those good soils are good for Honeycrisp. The best soils for Honeycrisp are not too fertile, they are not too high in potassium and this last aspect is a key thing. They are similar to what we used to call ‘McInstosh soils’. We almost forget about it, but we had growers that for many years did not put a drop of nitrogen for 20 years and they still grew good Macs.

The most important soil characteristics for Honeycrisp

Soil drainage is one of the most important. And growers should be tiling at least every 30 feet across the field. But the most important factors are soil pH and soil organic matter, because higher organic matter soils give too much nitrogen.  Too high soil potassium content is a problem too. It is important for bitter pit incidence. And soil calcium content is also important because it is directly related to bitter pit.

What we have learned about Honeycrisp and nutrients?

• Honeycrisp requires less K than other varieties for optimum fruit quality
  • Too much K results in bitter pit
  • Soils with high amounts of K are difficult to manage successfully with Honeycrisp
• Honeycrisp requires high amounts of Ca for optimum fruit quality
  • Low Ca results in bitter pit
  • Soils low in Ca can be managed successfully but require high additions of lime
• Honeycrisp requires less N than other varieties
  • High N results in poor fruit color and increased bitter pit
  • N fertilizer inputs must be limited, but many growers use N to obtain adequate tree growth to fill the space and then suffer from high bitter pit.
  • Soils with high organic matter, can supply too much N to Honeycrisp and result in bitter pit

Types of soils and their impacts on Honeycrisp

• WNY soils
  • Relatively high in pH
  • Relatively high in Ca
  • Moderately high in K
  • Moderately high in Mg
  • Easy to prepare for Honeycrisp by small additions of calcitic Lime
• Appalachian soils
  • Relatively low in pH
  • Relatively low in Ca
  • Relatively low in K
  • Relatively low in Mg
  • Difficult to prepare for Honeycrisp. They require high additions of lime
• Western US soils
  • Very high in pH
  • High in Ca
  • Very high in K
  • High in Mg
  • Impossible to prepare for Honeycrisp. They have too much K and Mg and don’t need lime.

Effects of soil organic matter on Honeycrisp

• WNY soils
  • Relatively high in organic matter (3-5%)
  • Each 1% of organic matter produces ~20 lbs N per acre each year
  • Easy to prepare for Honeycrisp by additions of almost no N
  • However, soils that are high in organic matter are difficult to manage with Honeycrisp
• Appalachian soils
  • Moderately levels of organic matter (1-3%)
  • Easy to prepare for Honeycrisp by additions of moderate amounts of N
• Western US soils
  • Very low in organic matter (0.1-0.5%)
  • Easy to add nitrogen but often over-applied in the West
  • Western growers often ‘push’ young trees with 200-500 lbs/acre of N

 

Conclusions

1. The natural levels of pH, soil Ca and soil K have a large effect on Honeycrisp fruit quality especially bitter pit
2. Some soil characteristics are hard to change and may take 20+years to influence

• High K levels decline slowly over time
• High organic matter produces excess N and declines very slowly

3. Performing soil tests before planting and thoughtful plans for soil modification are essential for successful Honeycrisp

• Pre-loading the soil with the proper amount of Ca is essential
• Increasing soil pH to 7.2 will make overall performance of Honeycrisp higher