Five Key Points of Scientific Autumn and Winter Management for Citrus to Help Your Trees Bear Abundant Fruit

Citrus is a plant that prefers a warm and humid climate and is relatively cold-tolerant, so autumn and winter management is especially important for citrus growth. It is also a crucial period for abundant fruit before citrus comes to market; after all, only with good yield and good taste can you get good returns. The content below is something citrus growers far and wide should read carefully!

Entering October, orchard management should focus on reducing soil moisture evaporation and on controlling pests and diseases to protect the leaves through winter. Early-maturing citrus should be given additional post-harvest fertilizer to stabilize tree vigor, while mid- and late-maturing varieties should be sprayed with foliar fertilizer to promote fruit coloring and increase sweetness.

1. Drought resistance and drought prevention to reduce soil moisture evaporation. The focus of fertilizer and water management is timely drought resistance and drought prevention, and drought prevention should be done by “preventing before drought occurs.” Navel oranges, Gonggan, Shatangju, Mashuiju and others are in the peak period of pre-harvest fruit drop and fruit cracking, so before drought the tree disks should be well covered to keep the soil as loose and moist as possible and reduce soil moisture evaporation. When there is no rain for half a month continuously, irrigation should be carried out in time to meet the water requirements for the continued enlargement of fruit of mid- and late-maturing varieties.

2. Deep plowing and green manure incorporation, and applying heavy fertilizer. September to October is also the best season for deep plowing and incorporating summer green manure (mung bean, soybean, sesbania, peanut vines, etc.), which can be applied together with trenching and heavy fertilization to help renew the root system. Specific method: in young citrus orchards, outside the drip line of the canopy, dig a ring-shaped trench of length × width × depth = 40 × 30 × 80 cm, put in 20-30 kg of green manure and 2.5 kg of N, P, K compound fertilizer, then add organic fertilizer such as pig and cattle pen manure or bran fertilizer, and at the same time add 0.5 kg of lime, mix evenly with soil and backfill the pit so as to fill the heavy-fertilizer pit, 5 cm above the pit surface.

3. Improve the soil. In the red-yellow soil citrus orchards of South China, soil organic matter content is low. Planting green manure is an effective measure to improve the soil, increase the source of organic matter, support the orchard with the orchard itself, and solve the shortage of fertilizer sources in citrus orchards. In young citrus orchards, winter green manure can be sown between the rows from September to October.

4. Apply post-harvest fertilizer to early-maturing varieties. For early-maturing varieties such as early-maturing Satsuma mandarin, after harvesting at the end of September to early October, apply a post-harvest fertilizer in time within half a month, drenching with organic water-soluble fertilizer + fertilizer containing trace elements, to help restore tree vigor.

5. Timely control of pests and diseases. From September to October, the weather in South China is dry and temperatures remain high, which is the most rampant period for damage by citrus mites (red spider mite, rust mite). Therefore, mite control must not be relaxed. At this time, inspect frequently, and when 2-3 mites are found per field of view, spray in time. Citrus mites can be effectively controlled with Jumanyi.

And entering winter, that is, after November, focus on doing the following work well:

1. Combined with winter pruning, remove dead branches, pest- and disease-damaged branches, diseased leaves, crossing branches, drooping branches and excessively vigorous shoots from citrus trees, and at the same time sweep up fallen dead branches and leaves on the ground and burn them in a centralized manner.

2. Eradicate weeds in and around the orchard, and use them as material for expanding and improving the soil or for covering the tree disks.

3. After pruning, spray the whole orchard once with 0.8 degrees Baume lime-sulfur mixture to eliminate overwintering pests. Fourth, whitewash the trunks: mix 1 kg of quicklime, 8 kg of water and one tablespoon of salt evenly, then whitewash the trunks. If longhorn beetles are damaging the trunk, use medicinal cotton dipped in dichlorvos and place it deep into the hole, then seal it with wet mud to fumigate and kill them.

Finally, the most critical step is scientific harvesting and commercial handling:

1. Harvest at the right time and avoid harmful early harvesting;

2. Promote the “one fruit, two cuts” harvesting technique, that is, after the first cut removes the fruit, cut the fruit stalk once more to avoid an overly long stalk damaging the peel of other fruits and causing rotten fruit; at the same time, after harvesting, immediately soak in medicine for freshness preservation, grade according to citrus grading standards, and promote boxed sales.

Citrus growers far and wide must pay close attention: at different periods, different management methods should be adopted, and the same method cannot be used for everything. Only by using scientific management methods can your fruit trees bear abundant and delicious citrus, and only then can you obtain higher economic benefits.