Summer pruning methods for citrus trees, is this how you prune?

Citrus trees are tall and large in stature, with numerous branches and many types of fruiting branches, and a long fruiting life. If the spatial arrangement of the various fruiting branches is not adjusted promptly and reasonably, it will cause poor ventilation and light penetration in the canopy, reduced fruit yield, and declined quality, resulting in alternate bearing. Therefore, through shaping and pruning, fruit quality can be improved, high-quality fruit can be produced with high and stable yields, production efficiency can be raised, and the fruiting life can be extended. Below, let us take a look at the summer pruning methods for citrus trees.

In mid-to-late July, thin out the overly dense branches in the middle-lower part and inner canopy of the fruit tree, as well as branches that dropped flowers and fruit, mouse-tail branches, broom branches, and weak, spindly branches. At the same time, cut back wasted and weak branches and the parts at the top of shoots that have become swollen into a nodular shape after repeated removal of summer shoots. Also thin out a small number of crossing weak branches in the middle-upper part of the outer canopy, leaving stubs of 8-12 cm, with the cut diameter controlled at 0.8-1 cm. Weak trees and heavily fruiting trees can be pruned somewhat more heavily to promote autumn shoot growth and restore tree vigor.

Pruning must be combined with good fertilizer management to achieve good results. For summer pruning, mountain orchards need heavy fertilizer applied one week before pruning, while paddy field orchards need heavy fertilizer applied immediately after pruning. During the autumn dog days, emphasis should be placed on water supply, and for weak trees pruned more heavily, root renewal should also be carried out at the same time. After pruning, pest and disease control should be strengthened to protect the new shoots.

In early July, according to tree nutrition, fruit thinning is carried out according to a reasonable leaf-to-fruit ratio, namely sweet orange 40-50:1, navel orange 50-60:1, mandarin 25-30:1, ponkan 60-70:1, and tangerine 20-30:1.