How Much Can You Earn from One Mu of Mandarin Oranges? High-Yield Cultivation and Pest and Disease Control Techniques

We are all familiar with mandarin oranges. They taste quite sweet, ranking among the sweeter citrus varieties, and have a delicate texture with no residue after eating, making them extremely popular with consumers on the market. However, due to limitations of region and climate, their planting area is limited, and facing growing market demand, the only way forward is to focus on yield. So how much can you earn from growing one mu of mandarin oranges? How can you grow them for high yield? How can you effectively prevent pests and diseases?

1. How much can you earn from growing one mu of mandarin oranges?

Growing one mu of mandarin oranges requires about 2500 yuan in costs, including material costs, labor costs and land costs, among which the cost of materials such as pesticides and fertilizers accounts for the largest share, about 1700 yuan or more. The yield per mu is about 5000 jin. Taking the middle value of 4 yuan per jin as the market price, the net profit per mu is 5000 jin * 4 yuan/jin - 2500 yuan = 17500 yuan.

2. How should mandarin oranges be grown for high yield?

1. Selecting seedlings

To achieve high yield, the first step is to select strong seedlings of pure variety that are free from pests and diseases. In addition, early-maturing varieties have better variety characteristics and yield, and grafting techniques can also be used to take advantage of the variety's strengths. Seedlings using trifoliate orange as rootstock produce dwarfed plants with high fruiting and higher yields; seedlings using sour orange as rootstock grow tall and upright with later fruiting. Therefore, the graft union of the seedling should reach a height of 0.6 cm, the plant should reach 50 cm in height, and it is best to have more than 3 complete branches with an intact and undamaged root system, so that a high-quality variety can be grafted.

2. Reasonable close planting

Mandarin oranges themselves have the characteristics of early and abundant fruiting, so reasonable close planting and planned use of the land in the early stage can increase orchard yields through this method, generally doubling the yield. When planting, choose a loose, fertile and moist soil environment, plant 200-300 plants per mu, with a plant-to-row spacing of about 2×1.5 m. In addition, practical production has shown that dwarfed close planting is also an important technique for achieving early fruiting and high yield.

3. Management during the young tree stage

The stage from planting to flowering is the young tree stage for mandarin oranges, generally lasting 2 years. At this time, what needs to be done is to strengthen tree nutrition, cultivate the canopy and root system, and carry out reasonable pruning. After planting, pruning should be carried out, keeping 5-6 short branches on the main branches, strengthening fertilizer and water management to promote new shoot germination. After the new shoots emerge, select 3-4 shoots of consistent growth and even distribution as auxiliary main branches. After the new shoots mature, cut them back again to promote more shoots, repeating this multiple times to form the canopy. Summer is the peak growing season for young trees, so in order to bear fruit earlier, bud removal to promote shoots should be carried out so that summer shoots emerge uniformly. In the second year, the main task is reasonable pruning to expand the canopy. In addition, the amount of fertilizer applied during the shoot period should be more than double that of the previous year, to promote early formation of the canopy.

4. Management during the fruiting stage

After the young tree stage management, the canopy of mandarin oranges has basically taken shape. They begin to bear fruit in the third year and reach full fruiting stage in the fifth year. During this period, the most important thing is measures to protect flowers and fruit. Mandarin oranges produce a large number of flowers but are very prone to flower drop, so during the flowering period, foliar fertilizer should be sprayed promptly to protect the flowers. The foliar fertilizer is mainly made by mixing borax or monopotassium phosphate with water to form a solution for spraying. In addition to flower drop, mandarin oranges also have two natural physiological fruit drop periods, especially the second physiological fruit drop which is larger. At this time, after most flowers have faded, gibberellic acid should be sprayed throughout the orchard to protect the fruit. When physiological fruit drop is still severe, girdling can be carried out to promote flower bud differentiation and improve fruit quality.

3. When do mandarin oranges ripen?

The ripening period of mandarin oranges is generally from late October to mid-November. Mandarin oranges, also known as sugar mandarins, are called “October oranges”. The flowering period is generally in late March each year, they gradually become sweet in late September, and the mature harvest period is from late October to mid-November.

4. How to effectively prevent and control pests and diseases of mandarin oranges?

1. Seize the best time for control

(1) Spray pesticides for control when new shoots have sprouted 1-2 cm; carry out control before the peak period of pest and disease damage; carry out control after continuous rainfall.

(2) Winter orchard cleaning is a good time to eliminate pests and diseases in the orchard. Orchard cleaning spray formulas:

Propargite + chlorpyrifos + mancozeb + foliar fertilizer;

Mineral oil + chlorpyrifos + prochloraz + foliar fertilizer;

Acetamiprid + abamectin + mancozeb.

2. Use pesticides correctly

(1) Long-term use of the same pesticide causes the resistance of some pests and diseases to rise significantly. To avoid pests and diseases developing resistance, it is recommended to rotate pesticides.

(2) When a certain pest or disease breaks out, use therapeutic pesticides, and it is recommended to spray alone rather than adding foliar fertilizer to the spray.

3. Spray pesticides thoroughly

It is recommended to use a high-pressure sprayer, spraying the leaf surface, leaf underside, inner canopy and all other areas thoroughly, leaving no blind spots.

4. Remove promptly

Promptly remove diseased trees that cannot be prevented or controlled, and burn them in a centralized manner to prevent contagion.