Even after years of scientific research, getting the correct level of nitrogen into apple trees remains in many ways an art. Lailiang Cheng, a researcher at Cornell University since 2000, has dedicated his career to helping growers make the right choices. He does the scientific studies, and he also helps growers interpret what their trees are telling them, because orchards are all different in their inherent ability to generate nitrogen. In general, for orchards in New York State, where soils are mostly fertile, fine-textured, and well watered, growers may need to add no nitrogen fertilizer and still have the 50 […]