Detailed Explanation of Newhall Navel Orange Planting Techniques and Management Key Points
Orange is a common fruit, and there are especially many types of oranges, including not only navel oranges and sweet oranges but also blood oranges, and so on. Even navel oranges have different varieties. Below, let's learn with the editor how Newhall navel oranges are planted. What kind of management is needed in the later stages of growing Newhall navel oranges?
Newhall Navel Orange Planting Techniques
1. Planting: Choose a site with relatively high fertility, open terrain, convenient irrigation, and sufficient sunlight to establish the orchard. Before planting, dig planting holes measuring 80×80×80cm square, and select navel orange seedlings with well-developed and complete root systems and robust plants for planting.
2. Fertilizer and water management: Dig large holes, apply large amounts of fertilizer, and apply more organic fertilizer. Follow the method of 6 applications in total: apply sprouting fertilizer, flower-preserving fertilizer, and fruit-preserving fertilizer in spring; apply fruit-strengthening fertilizer in summer; apply pre-harvest fertilizer in autumn and base fertilizer in winter. Newhall navel oranges have a large flower volume, many fallen flowers and fruits, and large fruits, so they require a large amount of fertilizer, more than double that of ordinary citrus.
3. Shaping and pruning: The tree shape uses the natural round-head form. For fruiting trees, implement the cultivation and management measures of “focusing on spring shoots, controlling summer shoots, and protecting autumn shoots well.” Pruning is mainly done in winter, with three coordinated rounds in spring, summer, and autumn. In winter pruning, besides removing dead branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, crossing branches, overlapping branches, and saddle branches, weak branches below 5cm should be removed, excessively dense branches should be appropriately thinned, and overly long branches should be shortened and kept as reserve branches.
4. Pest and disease control: The main pests and diseases of Newhall navel oranges include canker, mites, scale insects, leafminers, longhorn beetles, and so on. According to the plant protection policy of “prevention first, biological control,” adhere to the principle of giving priority to agricultural control, biological control, and physical control, with chemical control as a supplement, to achieve relative ecological balance.
Deep plowing and hole expansion should be done well, and the soil should be matured. It is prohibited to plant tall-stemmed plants such as corn and wheat in the orchard. Do a good job in reasonable intercropping in the orchard and in intertillage and weeding.
Choose a Suitable Planting Area
Among the suitable ecological conditions required by Newhall navel oranges, temperature is the most important and most critical factor. The annual average temperature should preferably be 16.2-18℃, and the annual accumulated temperature at ≥10℃ should preferably be 5000-8000℃. Too high or too low will affect its growth, fruiting, and quality. The minimum temperature must not be lower than -5℃, otherwise freezing injury will occur. Areas with good microclimatic environments such as large water bodies, basins, sunny slopes, and warm belts can also grow Newhall navel oranges as long as they meet the above temperature conditions.
Newhall navel oranges have wide adaptability to soil. Whether in hills or plains, whether in red soil areas, purple soil, or paddy soil, they can be cultivated. However, the soil is required to be slightly acidic (pH 5.5-6.5). For overly acidic soil, an appropriate amount of lime is required to be applied continuously for several years for adjustment, and the soil layer is required to be deep and fertile with good looseness and permeability. In addition, the orchard is required to have sufficient sunlight, air convection, convenient drainage and irrigation, and be far from industrial pollution.
Shaping and Pruning
Principles: Adapt to local conditions, prune according to the tree, promote and suppress appropriately, provide ventilation and light, and achieve three-dimensional fruiting.
Shaping: (natural open-center form). Trunk height 20-40cm. The main branches (3-4 branches) are distributed on the trunk in a well-arranged and staggered manner. The branching angle of the main trunk is 30°-50°, and each main branch retains 2-3 secondary main branches. Generally, after the third main branch is formed, the central leader-like trunk is cut off and twisted to one side to serve as a fruiting branch group.
Pruning: Young trees are mainly lightly pruned. After selecting the central leader-like extension branch and the extension branches of each main branch and secondary main branch, moderate or even heavy heading back is carried out on them, and the balance of growth among the main branches is regulated by the degree of heading back and the direction of the pruning cut bud. In addition to appropriately thinning overly dense branch groups, the inner canopy branches and weaker shoots in the middle and lower parts of the canopy should generally be retained.
Early fruiting stage: Continue to choose heading back treatment for the extension branches at all levels of the framework, remove summer shoots, and promote the growth of robust autumn shoots. In autumn, for vigorously growing trees, measures to promote flowering such as ring cutting, root pruning, and water control are used. Full fruiting stage: Timely retract fruiting branch groups, branch groups that have dropped flowers and fruits, and declining branch groups, and cut off light-blocking branches, dead branches, and diseased and pest-infested branches.
How to Prevent and Control Pests and Diseases
Disease prevention and pest elimination: Strengthen control of red spiders, leafminers, aphids, swallowtail butterflies, cotton bollworm, and locusts; at the same time, strengthen control of canker and anthracnose.
1. Red spider: The spring shoot and autumn shoot growth periods are key control periods. When they first appear, use acaricides for prevention and control to prevent outbreaks.
2. Leafminer: Before summer and autumn shoots sprout, when buds are 2-3 millimeters long, spray avermectin-type pesticides, once every 5-7 days, for 2 consecutive sprays.
3. Aphids, swallowtail butterflies: Use organophosphorus pesticides for control.
4. Cotton bollworm: Its larvae have a false death habit and damage tender shoots about 1-2 centimeters long, while adults chew leaves. During the summer and autumn shoot growth periods, control should be emphasized. In severe infestations, leaves can be completely eaten bare. Pesticides such as Gaichonglang and Dabading can be used for control; at the same time, weeds in the orchard should be cleared so that cotton bollworm has nowhere to hide.
5. Locusts: When causing severe damage in summer, they chew leaves. Pesticides such as phoxim and malathion can be used for control.
6. Canker: During the summer shoot and autumn shoot growth periods, spray copper preparations such as copper quinoline, yekuzuo, agricultural streptomycin, and other pesticides, for 2-3 consecutive control applications until the leaves mature.
7. Anthracnose: At the early stage of disease onset, spray prochloraz, thiophanate-methyl, chlorothalonil, and other pesticides for control.
Through the above content summarized by the editor on growing Newhall navel oranges, I believe everyone has gained a certain understanding of growing Newhall navel oranges. Newhall navel orange is a premium variety among navel oranges, sweet and juicy in taste, and also very rich in nutritional value, so growing Newhall navel oranges is still a profitable project!