How to Grow Lemons? A Complete Guide to Methods and Tips
Lemons taste bitter and are low in calories, and have the effects of calming the fetus, promoting urination, and relieving pain. It is a drink that many people often have in their daily lives. Lemons grow best in warm places, so conditions in the north are not suitable for growing lemons; generally only the south can grow them. The yield of lemons is closely related to planting management.
How to Grow Lemons
1. Orchard establishment on flat land: To build a lemon orchard using paddy fields, high furrows should be made along the slope to drain water and dry the field. After the soil is dried white the following year, mark the planting points according to the row and plant spacing, and build steamed-bun-shaped mounds of soil, with a mound height of 40-50 cm and a base diameter of about 1 m.
2. Orchard establishment on sloping land: For orchards on sloping land, methods such as building contour terraces, contour trenches, or fish-scale pits can be used to improve soil fertility and conserve soil and water. Contour terraces are suitable for slopes of 100-25 degrees, contour trenches are suitable for slopes of 6-100 degrees with deep soil, and fish-scale pits are suitable for steep slopes and complex terrain where building level terraces or contour trenches is relatively difficult.
3. Lemon planting: The planting density—generally 3×4 m, with 55 plants per mu, is appropriate. Planting is usually done in spring and autumn; autumn transplanting should be carried out in September-October. Before planting, dig planting holes measuring 60×60×60 cm, apply 30-50 kg of organic fertilizer and 0.5-1 kg of superphosphate per hole, or more than 20 kg of decomposed human and livestock manure water, mix the fertilizer thoroughly with the soil, and cover with soil to form a planting mound 20 cm above the ground level. At planting, remove the grafting film from the seedlings, trim damaged roots, and cut off overly long main roots and tender late-autumn shoots. Make a small hole on the planting mound, place the seedling in it, cover with soil while arranging the roots, gently lift the root system, and lightly press the soil so that the roots and soil are in close contact. The planting depth should be consistent with the soil mark from the nursery period, with the root crown exposed above the ground. Water thoroughly to settle the roots, and cover with rice straw, stalk, green manure, or plastic film to keep warm and retain moisture.
The Growing Environment for Lemons
Lemons are relatively suitable for planting in the south. Lemons prefer warmth, tolerate shade, are not cold-tolerant, and also fear heat. Therefore, they are suitable for cultivation in subtropical regions with warm winters and cool summers. Areas with warm winters and small annual temperature differences are suitable, with an average annual temperature of 17-19°C, greater than or equal to 10°C, annual effective accumulated temperature of 5200-6500°C, average January temperature of 6-8°C, extreme low temperature above -3°C, annual rainfall of 1200-1500 mm, and annual sunshine hours greater than 1200 hours. In areas with an average annual temperature below 17°C, and areas with short periods of -5°C low temperature and periodic freeze damage, open-field economic cultivation is not suitable. There are no strict requirements for soil and terrain; flat land and hilly slopes are both suitable for cultivation, but the best is slightly acidic soil with deep, loose soil, rich in organic matter, strong moisture and fertilizer retention, good drainage, a low groundwater table, and a pH value of 5.5-6.5.
Fertilizer and Water Management for Lemons
For young trees, in the first and second years after planting, nitrogen fertilizer is applied as a topdressing to promote canopy formation, but afterward nitrogen fertilizer should be controlled and the application of calcium-magnesium-phosphate compound fertilizer should be increased. In autumn, organic fertilizer is applied as a base fertilizer, combined with foliar topdressing during the growing season, to strengthen tree nutrition and promote flower bud formation and flowering and fruit set. For fruiting lemon trees, fertilization should focus on the period from after flower drop to fruit expansion and the period of autumn shoot emergence. Fertilizer can be decomposed bran fertilizer or human manure and urine, combined with regular topdressing of urea and phosphorus-potassium fertilizer according to growth conditions. Topdressing adopts the method of light fertilizer applied frequently, that is, many times and in small amounts, to prevent loss; lemons are not drought-tolerant, so water should be applied or irrigation carried out promptly.
Pruning Methods for Lemon Trees
1. Training and pruning of young trees. Young lemon trees tend to produce long shoots. After the shoots emerge, except for retaining 8-10 leaves on long shoots before pinching, all others should be pinched as tender shoots. A length of 20-25 cm is appropriate to build a full and robust canopy, with early branching and many branches. Note that there should be few main branches and many branch groups, with spacing opened up, so as to expand the canopy as quickly as possible. This encourages young trees to form a canopy as early as possible and bear fruit earlier.
2. Training and pruning of trees beginning to bear fruit. Mainly light thinning and long releasing, with attention to cultivating excellent fruiting mother branches and maintaining enough flowers each year to increase yield. In pruning, combine tree shaping, continue to arrange secondary main branches and side branches, and for upright shoots with vigorous growth, use the methods of pulling and propping. Apply a wound-healing and antiseptic film to pruning cuts promptly to protect the wounds, help them heal quickly, and isolate them from pathogen infection.
3. Training and pruning of closely planted trees. In the first few years of fruiting in closely planted lemon orchards, pruning should be light, mainly removing summer shoots to protect fruit, promoting autumn shoots as fruiting mother branches, and promptly cutting back fruiting branch groups. Spraying Zhikong Cuihua Wang on the top shoots of vigorously growing trees can inhibit excessive shoot growth, force a large amount of the vigorous nutrients at the top shoots to flow back, regulate the matching of growth nutrients in the fruit tree, and promote flower bud differentiation.
If lemon trees are to grow well and have a high fruiting rate, later management is indispensable. Generally, fertilizing only twice a year, in summer and in winter-spring, is enough. Lemons have very many uses and many benefits; as long as they are cultivated with care, the returns brought later will also be very considerable.