How many years does it generally take for a sugar mandarin to bear fruit?

The sugar mandarin is a small type of orange with flat-round fruit, skin ranging from orange-yellow to orange-red, thin and easy-to-peel rind, and a sweet, fiber-free taste that many people love. So, how many years does a sugar mandarin take to bear fruit?

1. How many years does a sugar mandarin take to bear fruit?

A sugar mandarin generally bears fruit after 3 years of planting, and enters peak production after 5 years; it usually blooms in late March, begins to turn sweet in late September, and is harvested from late October to early November. The yield per tree is 100-150 jin, with high-yielding trees reaching 350-400 jin, and the fruit stores well.

2. How do you plant a sugar mandarin?

1. Soil: The sugar mandarin adapts to a fairly wide range of soils, but loose-textured soil with good structure, 2%-3% organic matter content, and good drainage is most suitable, with a pH of 5.5-6.5.

2. Planting: Choose seedlings about 50 cm tall with a well-developed, intact root system and no pests or diseases, and plant them at a spacing of 10x7 chi and 80 trees per mu, 10x6 chi and 100 trees per mu, or 9x6 chi and 110 trees per mu.

3. Fertilizer and water: For young trees, apply mainly nitrogen fertilizer together with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, fertilizing 5-6 times during the spring, summer, and autumn shoot emergence periods, each time applying 0.4 jin of ammonium bicarbonate or 0.2 jin of urea per tree; for mature trees, apply a good sprouting fertilizer, fruit-setting fertilizer, fruit-sizing fertilizer, and post-harvest fertilizer. Irrigate when the soil is dry and drain when water accumulates.

4. Pruning: For young trees, prune lightly, cutting back the central leader and the leaders of each main and secondary main branch, and remove overcrowded branches. In the early fruiting stage, cut back the extension branches at all levels of the framework and remove summer shoots. In the full fruiting stage, cut back fruiting branch groups, flower-drop fruiting branch groups, and declining branch groups, and remove light-blocking branches, dead branches, and pest- and disease-damaged branches.

5. Pests and diseases: Diseases include anthracnose and foot rot, while pests include mites, scale insects, aphids, citrus leafminer, longhorn beetles, and flower bud midges, which should be controlled promptly.