What are the causes of and preventive measures for (stunted seedlings) in citrus?

Citrus is one of our most common fruits, and its market season arrives every autumn and winter, when it can be seen everywhere in the market. Although it is delicious, all kinds of problems arise during the growing process. Stunted seedlings are one of them, a phenomenon that occurs in young seedlings. So what causes stunted growth in citrus? How should it be solved? Let's take a look together.

I. Causes

1. Innately weak seedlings

Citrus seedlings may be innately weak, with poor growth vigor and few roots. When planting citrus, the planting area is large, and not all seedlings can grow into large trees after planting, so many orchards will more or less encounter this situation.

2. Low-lying terrain

If the planting plot is low-lying and the groundwater level is low, the fruit trees are very prone to root waterlogging, causing waterlogging damage, and this situation is also very likely to cause stunted seedlings.

3. Soil problems

Citrus has strong adaptability to soil, but if the soil is too acidic or too alkaline, or the soil layer is shallow, it will also affect its root growth, thereby causing stunted seedlings.

4. Low organic matter content

When the organic matter content in the soil is too low, the plant lacks organic nutrients during growth and cannot provide nutrients to the fruit tree in time, so stunted seedlings occur.

II. Preventive measures

1. Choose strong seedlings

When purchasing, be sure to select carefully and choose robustly growing citrus seedlings. If you accidentally buy seedlings with weak resistance, it is recommended to cultivate the weak citrus seedlings together in one place, and transplant them to the field only after they have been cultivated into strong seedlings.

2. Ridge cultivation

If planting in lower-lying plots, ridge cultivation can be adopted to raise the groundwater level, along with digging drainage ditches, so as to avoid waterlogging.

3. Soil improvement

For plots with too acidic or too alkaline soil, soil improvement can be carried out, for example, using quicklime to improve acidic soil. For areas where the soil is severely acidic or severely alkaline and soil improvement is difficult, it is recommended to move the citrus to plots with suitable acidity and alkalinity for planting.

4. Fertilization

For plots with low organic matter content, a large amount of organic fertilizer containing humic acid can be applied at this time, which can increase the organic matter content of the soil and help the citrus plants absorb nutrients.

5. Pruning to promote root growth

For normal seedlings that are in suitable plots but still show slow plant growth, the cause needs to be analyzed in time, because the root system is not well developed and the nutrients absorbed are limited, unable to meet the normal growth of citrus. At this time, part of the branches and leaves can be pruned, combined with root fertilization, to encourage the plant to grow more fibrous roots and cultivate a strong root system.

The above is an introduction to the causes of and preventive measures for stunted seedlings in citrus. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.