A fair bit of my apricot seedlings show a deficiency or problem of some sort. I think it’s showing this early, since they’re only a couple of months old, though they’ve grown extremely fast until now. They are in 3L air-pots.
Btw - I’ve thrown some 22-3-10 NPK pellets in some of the pots to see if that solves the problem. I see nitrogen deficient leaves showing similar pattern. But I’ve also seen iron deficiency as well as some pH-issues showing up quite similar (while searching online).
I’m looking into the supplements/fertilizers available now. It’s not a very large assortment of products online here in Norway. Have found i.e. a product from Azelis. It is liquid and contains:
1.3 % Fe
0.5 % Mn
0.18 % Zn
0.23 % B
0.14 % Cu
0.05 % Mo
If its not a iron or magnesium deficiency it could be a bacterial problem with the roots. Since there in 3L pots you could flood the root systems with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution.
@Henrik
Using the dosage given on the label, I recommend once per month for 4 months and then wait until spring to decide if it was effective.
On the subject of pH: if you are irrigating then the pH of the irrigation water is setting the pH of the Apricot seedligs soil / media, otherwise the pH is due to the soil. Are you irrigating?
Yes - I spray with water about daily, or has been spraying until now. It har been dry the last month. Finally it has started raining. I believe the water is pretty neutral here.
I’ll order the nutrient solution for the plants and try it as you recommended …
@Henrik
I believe you are watering too often. Water once, thoroughly soaking the soil. Wait until the soil is “less than moist” (not dry) before watering again. If you are having to water every 1-3 days then the container is too small and / or the soil drains too fast.
The place to check moisture is in the root zone, not the soil surface.
But one last thing. Fertilizer I added also contains some sulphur ! That could lower the pH, right? Thus it could also lead to a change in soil pH. Could it be that the nutrients are there, just that the seedlings are unable to access them? So, should I maybe wait and see if that solves the problem, or should I just go ahead and get the iron supplement anyways? …
Concerning the pots - can’t do much about that now, hopefully they’ll be in the ground next spring …
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