Assessment of the Possibilities of Using Cross-Linked Polyacrylamide (Agro Hydrogel) and Preparations with Biostimulation in Building the Quality Potential of Newly Planted Apple Trees

Abstract

The research was carried out in a commercial apple orchard in southeastern Poland. The aim of the research was to evaluate the effect of fertilizer with biostimulation and humic acids with algae extracts and agrogel on the reception and growth of newly planted maiden apple trees of the ‘Gala Must’ variety. One-year-old budwoods were planted annually on the site where fruit trees had grown for 20 years. For the purpose of the experiment, old trees were grubbed up every year in autumn. The experiment assessed the growth and quality of apple trees in the fall of the first year after planting them permanently using a biostimulator in the form of fertilizer and agrogel. On the basis of 3-year studies, it was shown that the application of the assessed preparations had a positive effect on the quality parameters of the trees. The experiment showed the positive effect of the preparation with biostimulation on the best growth and quality parameters every year, which was confirmed by the multidimensional cluster analysis. The fact that the use of agrogel significantly modified the height of the evaluated apple trees in the second year of the study, when lower amounts of rainfall were recorded, is particularly noteworthy.