Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Scientia Horticulturae journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scihorti Guidelines for fertilizer use in pomegranate orchards based on seasonal uptake and partitioning of nutrients Ashis Maity a, ⁎ , Karuppnan Dinesh Babu a , Ananta Sarkar b a ICAR-National Research Centre on Pomegranate, NH-9, Kegaon, Solapur, 413255, Maharashtra, India b ICAR-Central Institute for Women in Agriculture, Bhubanewsar, 751003, Odisha, India ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Punica granatum Organ nutrient concentration Organ nutrient amount Nutrient removal ABSTRACT Understanding nutrient dynamics within the pomegranate plant on a temporal scale is critical to the develop- ment of sound nutrient management practices. This study investigated the seasonal patterns of nutrient uptake and redistribution in whole pomegranate plant in a 4-years old drip irrigated pomegranate cv. Bhagwa orchard of growing on sandy clay soil. In 2015-16, six plants were excavated each time during pre-pruning phase, flowering, fruit enlargement, fruit development and harvesting. Biomass, nutrient concentration and total nu- trient amount of all plant organs were determined. Seasonal dynamics of total amount of N, P and S nutrients in plant share a consistent pattern: translocation of nutrients from woody organs to actively growing organs at the beginning of the season and nutrient movement to woody organs at the fruit maturity, while most of the canopy demand for K was met out from the soil uptake. Plant had higher total amount of Ca than all other nutrients throughout the growing season indicating its natural affinity towards Ca. Majority of Ca accumulated in per- manent structures of the plant. The uptake pattern of macronutrients followed the order of Ca > N > K > Mg > S > P. Most of the uptake of N, K, Ca, Mg and S from the soil occurred between pre- pruning and bloom of the crop whereas the highest P uptake took place from fruit development to fruit maturity. The demand for micronutrients particularly Fe, Mn and B was highest during fruit enlargement stage while that of Zn was during the fruit development stage. 1. Introduction Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an economically important fruit crop of the tropical and subtropical region of the world which is valued for its delicious fruits rich in nutraceuticals (Badizadegan and Khabbazian, 1977). It has been of recent interest for its nutritional and antioxidant characteristics. Similar to other fruit crops, the yield and quality of pomegranate are influenced by the nutrient dynamics of the plant (Maity et al., 2017). The plant’s mineral nutrient uptake from the soil each year is only a portion of the total plant’s mineral nutrient annual need, the other portion is redistributed throughout the plant from woody and root tissues that function as storage organs (Pradubsuk and Davenport, 2010). An understanding of how the nutrient content of the plant varies throughout the season is central to define optimum condition for both crop yield and storage quality and in determining the timing and quantities of nutrients required by the plant. While only the seasonal changes in mineral nutrient composition in leaves and fruits are documented so far (Maity et al., 2017; Mirdehghan and Rahemi, 2007). Nutrient uptake and partitioning are strongly influenced by the plant’s development stages (Lima et al., 2011; Nascimento et al., 2012). In most of the species, the macronutrients are usually considered as having high phloem mobility, except calcium (Ca) and sulfur (S). The nutrients uptake pattern and their redistribution are influenced by plant species also. The studies that investigate total nutrients amount in plant and their redistribution according to the plant developmental need are very much lacking in pomegranate, hindering the development of ef- fective nutrient management schedule for optimizing plant nutrition and enhancing productivity. Extensive studies were carried out on this area in grapevine. Drawing reviews from those studies will provide an insight on nutrient dynamics that takes place with the perennial structures. Most studies report that grapevines take up the majority of the N between bloom and veraison (Bates et al., 2002; Hanson and Howell, 1995 and Mullins et al., 1992). It is also known that grapevines rely on stored nutrient reserves to supply early canopy development. Between 20–40 % of the annual N requirement of the canopy can be supplied from stored reserves in the trunk and roots with the greatest reliance on reserves occurring before bloom (Bates et al., 2002; Hanson and Howell, 1995; Williams, 1991). Less than 10% of annual vine https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.03.047 Received 29 June 2018; Received in revised form 2 February 2019; Accepted 23 March 2019 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: ashisashismaity@gmail.com (A. Maity), ckdhinesh@gmail.com (K.D. Babu), ananta8976@gmail.com (A. Sarkar). Scientia Horticulturae 252 (2019) 138–148 0304-4238/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. T