A Detailed Guide to the Latest Key Points for Pruning Citrus Trees
As we now gradually move into autumn, the citrus marketing season has also arrived. China's citrus planting area is currently very large, and when growing citrus, pruning work is indispensable. When pruning citrus, we must adjust the pruning method according to seasonal changes. So when growing citrus, how exactly should it be pruned? Today the editor brings you the key points for pruning citrus trees, let's take a look below!
1. Summer pruning
Summer is an important period for pruning citrus trees, and in summer the pruning time is generally 9 days before the shoots are released. This is because the temperature at this time is relatively suitable, and the tree's physiological functions are also relatively active. If sufficient fertilizer and water are guaranteed, then about 7 days after summer pruning is completed, a large number of autumn shoots can sprout. It can also ensure that the shoots emerge uniformly, which facilitates later unified pesticide spraying. It also allows better control of pests such as the citrus leafminer; if the tree is weak, then pruning should be appropriately moved up by one week.
2. Winter pruning
For pruning citrus trees in winter, the timing has relatively strict requirements. First, we must note that after harvesting the fruit, pruning cannot be done immediately. This is because the nutrient and water content in the fruit accounts for the largest proportion of the whole tree's nutrients. After the fruit is harvested, a large amount of nutrients is lost, so the tree becomes very weak; if winter pruning is carried out at this time, the tree will become even weaker, so everyone must pay close attention to this. However, we can prune the old fruiting branches on poorly growing trees, thereby prompting the renewal of fruiting branches and improving yield and quality.
⟦NL>3. Pay attention to tree age
When pruning citrus trees, we must also control the pruning intensity according to tree age. For adult fruiting trees, pruning can generally be carried out from after the winter fruit harvest all the way until before spring budding. However, pruning will more or less cause some damage to the tree, so when pruning we must also pay attention to doing a good job of topdressing fertilizer to prevent excessive nutrient loss from affecting the next year's fruiting. For fruiting trees, the main purpose of pruning is to improve the tree's ventilation and light penetration, adjust the relationship between vegetative and reproductive growth within the tree, and increase the yield of the citrus tree.
4. Pay attention to the fruiting situation
When pruning citrus trees, we must carefully observe the fruiting situation on the tree to control the pruning intensity. If the fruit load is relatively small, then the pruning intensity can be appropriately increased, with special attention to some fruiting mother branches, reducing the amount of flowering, and thereby lowering nutrient consumption. Conversely, if the fruit load is relatively large, then the pruning intensity should be appropriately reduced to promote fruit growth and improve the tree's growth capacity; once the yield is guaranteed, the fruit quality must then be enhanced.
The above is a brief introduction to the key points for pruning citrus trees. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can be helpful to Daji!