How to Grow Red Heart Oranges? A Detailed Guide to the Key Points of Red Heart Orange Cultivation Techniques

The red heart orange is what we call the blood orange. When this orange is cut open, the flesh is orange-red or purple-red, and its vitamin C content is extremely high. Current market demand is relatively high, which has attracted many people to grow it. What are the cultivation techniques for red heart oranges?

Cultivation Techniques for Red Heart Oranges

1. The orchard site should preferably have loose, deep soil rich in organic matter, well-aerated subsoil, a low water table, and slightly acidic soil. The orchard should have convenient transportation, a nearby water source for drought resistance, and should avoid wind gap areas and be planted with windbreak trees.

2. Mountain orchards should have large planting holes dug or trenches opened. The hole specifications are 1 m in length and 1 m in width, with a depth of 0.8 m. Trenches should be opened along contour lines. Orchards on paddy fields should have raised mounds and deep drainage ditches dug to prevent waterlogging from damaging the trees.

3. Vigorous, virus-free seedlings should be selected.

4. The planting method should use wide rows and narrow plant spacing, with row spacing of no less than 4 m, plant spacing between 2-3 m, and 55-80 plants per mu.

5. If using mud-dipped bare-root seedlings, they should be planted in early winter or spring. The root system of the planted seedling must not come into direct contact with the base fertilizer and should be separated by fresh soil. Transplanting with soil should be done as much as possible to protect the roots and leaves. After planting, water thoroughly to settle the roots, tidy the tree basin, and cover with rice straw. Afterwards, continue watering 2-3 more times depending on the weather and soil moisture retention, keeping the root zone moist until the seedlings are growing steadily.

6. Young trees should mainly be given water-soluble fertilizer as a top dressing, with the management goal of rapidly enlarging the canopy. As the canopy grows, the fertilizer amount per plant should also be increased appropriately, alternating urea and compound fertilizer to quickly promote more branches and larger leaves. Three-year-old trees should be given increased organic fertilizer in combination with hole expansion and soil improvement, gradually increasing the fertilizer amount as the number of branches increases.

7. Trees bearing many fruits should have their fertilizer application increased to prevent premature decline caused by excessive fruiting in the first production year. The standard for appropriate fertilizer amount is that the fruit can expand normally and enough autumn shoots are produced on time. First-production trees should be able to produce summer shoots. In drought conditions, irrigation should be done promptly.

8. Young trees should not be pruned too much; use the method of bud selection and wiping to guide the tree shape. The trunk height should be controlled at 30-50 cm, and 3-5 main branches should be selected and retained. Bearing trees should have the growth of upright branches at the top suppressed to prevent the tree shape from becoming upright and too tall.

9. Determining the number of flowers and fruits and regulating the relationship between vegetative growth and reproductive growth is the key to fruit retention. Trees with excessive flowering should have flower thinning done, retaining as many flower branches with leaves as possible. Bearing trees with too few flowers should have excess vegetative branches wiped away to prevent excessive vegetative growth from causing fruit drop.

The cultivation techniques for red heart oranges are briefly introduced here. We hope this is of some reference value to everyone, and you can also consult relevant professionals according to actual needs.