When is the right time to graft a mandarin orange? How do you do the grafting?

The mandarin orange, also called the tangerine, originated in China. It has many excellent varieties and a cultivation history of more than 4000 years. Grafting is also a relatively good propagation method that ensures both quality and quantity. So, when is the right time to graft a mandarin orange? How do you do the grafting?

When is the right time to graft a mandarin orange?

Grafting of mandarin orange trees can be done in spring, summer or autumn, and autumn is the most suitable, with a survival rate generally above 90%.

How do you graft a mandarin orange?

When grafting, first prepare the rootstock, then cut the bud. Using “T”-shaped budding, first cut a “T”-shaped opening on the rootstock 3 to 5 cm above the ground, to a depth that reaches the xylem and allows the rootstock bark to be peeled back; then carefully peel back the rootstock bark with the tip of the knife and quickly insert the shield-shaped bud with its leaf stalk. After grafting, mound soil to a height of 10 cm. After 10 to 15 days, dig away the soil and check whether it has taken. If the bud piece is fresh and light green and the leaf stalk falls off at a touch, it has taken; otherwise it has not, and it should be re-grafted on the back of the rootstock.

For aftercare of bud-grafted nursery stock, in early spring of the following year cut the stem 18 to 20 cm above the grafted bud point and untie the binding. In summer, prune 3 to 4 times, cutting off the shoots sent out by the rootstock. When the new shoot from the grafted bud grows to 8 to 10 cm, tie it near the base to a living stake; when it grows to 20 to 25 cm, tie it once more at the upper end. Until the grafted shoot becomes woody, cut away the living stake, and it can continue to be grown in the field to produce large saplings.

The main value of the mandarin orange

The mandarin orange is brightly colored and sweet-and-sour, generally orange-yellow; it is one of the most common fruits in people's daily lives, and its peel can be used as medicine.

The mandarin orange is sweet and sour in taste and warm in nature, and enters the lung. It mainly treats stagnation of qi in the chest and diaphragm, vomiting and poor appetite, insufficiency of stomach yin, dryness and thirst in the mouth, cough due to lung heat, and excessive drinking. It has the effects of stimulating appetite and quenching thirst while moistening the lungs. The mandarin orange is also very rich in nutrients; one mandarin orange almost satisfies the vitamin C needed by the human body in a day. In addition, mandarin oranges contain more than 170 kinds of plant compounds and more than 60 kinds of flavonoids, most of which are natural antioxidants.

Citrus fruits are rich in nutrients and excellent in color, aroma and taste; they can be eaten fresh and can also be processed into various processed products, mainly juice. Citrus ranks first in output among all fruits, and citrus juice accounts for 3/4 of fruit juice, and is widely favored by consumers.