The Latest Tangerine Tree Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial

The tangerine is a fruit of the genus Citrus in the family Rutaceae, native to China. Its thousands of years of cultivation history make it impossible to pinpoint its exact place of origin. It was spread across the Eurasian continent by the Arabs, and to this day it is still called the “China apple” in the Netherlands and Germany. China is one of the important places of origin for the tangerine, rich in resources and with numerous excellent varieties. Now let us take a look at the planting techniques for tangerine trees!

Planting Conditions for Tangerine Trees

1. Temperature: The growth and development of the tangerine fruit requires a temperature of 12.5-37°C. During autumn flower bud differentiation, the day and night temperatures should be around 20°C and around 10°C respectively. The soil temperature for root growth is roughly the same as that of the aboveground part. High temperatures are also unfavorable to the growth and development of citrus; when the air temperature and soil temperature exceed 37°C, the fruit and roots stop growing.

2. Light: The tangerine is a tree species with relatively strong shade tolerance, but good sunlight is still needed for high quality and high yield. Generally, areas with an annual sunshine duration of 1200-2200 hours can support normal growth. For example, compared with the Chongqing citrus production area, which has less sunshine, South China, with good sunshine and abundant heat, produces fruit with higher sugar content, lower acid content and a higher sugar-acid ratio.

3. Humidity: Tangerines are suitable for planting in tropical and subtropical regions with an annual rainfall of around 1000 mm. The suitable relative soil moisture content is 60-80%; when it is below 60%, irrigation is needed. Excessive rain causing soil waterlogging or a high groundwater table will cause root death in citrus orchards with poor drainage.

4. Soil: The tangerine has a relatively wide range of soil adaptability. It can grow in purple soil, red-yellow soil, sandy beach and coastal silt, with a pH of 4.5-8, and a pH of 5.5-6.5 is most suitable. Root growth requires a relatively high oxygen content, and soil that is loose in texture, well structured, with an organic matter content of 2-3% and good drainage is most suitable.

Planting Techniques for Tangerine Trees

1. Seedling planting: When planting tangerine seedlings, moderately prune the root system of the seedling, then place it in the center of the planting hole, spread out the roots, hold it upright, and while filling in soil, gently lift the seedling upward and firm the soil. Water thoroughly to settle the roots, make a 1-meter tree disc around the seedling, and cover it with rice husks. After planting the tangerine seedlings, deep plowing and hole expansion should be done well to mature the soil. Planting tall-stalked plants such as corn and wheat in the orchard is prohibited, and tasks such as reasonable intercropping in the orchard and cultivation and weeding should be done well.

2. Fertilizer and water management: Tangerine trees should fully satisfy the needs of blood oranges for various nutrient elements. It is advocated to apply more organic fertilizer, reasonably apply inorganic fertilizer and formula fertilizer, and guide fertilization according to leaf analysis results, orchard soil analysis results, and the phenological period of blood oranges. Soil fertilization is the main method, supplemented by foliar fertilization. Methods such as ring trench application, strip trench application, hole application and spreading fertilizer on the soil surface are used. Irrigate when the soil is dry, and drain when there is water accumulation.

3. Reasonable fertilization: Tangerine trees should be fertilized frequently and lightly, mainly with nitrogen fertilizer, combined with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, and fertilized 5-6 times during the spring, summer and autumn shoot emergence periods. For mature trees, apply four good rounds of fertilizer, namely sprouting fertilizer, fruit-preserving fertilizer, fruit-strengthening fertilizer and post-harvest fertilizer. Sprouting fertilizer: 2-3 jin of chemical fertilizer and one load of manure water; fruit-preserving fertilizer: 1-2 jin of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer and 1 jin of chemical fertilizer; fruit-strengthening fertilizer: 1-2 jin of chemical fertilizer and 2 jin of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer; post-harvest fertilizer: 50-100 jin of organic fertilizer and 2 jin of chemical fertilizer per tree.

4. Pruning techniques: In the young tree stage, after selecting the central leader extension shoot and the extension shoots of each main branch and sub-main branch, carry out moderate or even heavy heading back, and regulate the balance of growth among the main branches through the degree of heading back and the direction of the pruning bud. In the fruiting stage, continue to select and head back the extension shoots at all levels of the framework, remove summer shoots, and promote the emergence of robust autumn shoots. In autumn, for vigorously growing trees, measures to promote flowering such as girdling, root pruning and water control are used.

Pest and Disease Control for Tangerine Trees

1. Foot rot: Drain promptly, improve light transmission and ventilation conditions in the orchard, strengthen control of longhorn beetles and other trunk pests, and select disease-resistant rootstocks such as trifoliate orange, citrange and bitter orange. For plants already infected, disease-resistant rootstocks can be used for rootstock replacement.

2. Mites: The main periods for controlling rust mites are the spring shoot emergence period, young fruit period and fruit enlargement period. Commonly used pesticides include hexythiazox, pyridaben, propargite, bromopropylate and amitraz. Pay attention to protecting natural enemies such as long-seta mites, blunt mites and green lacewings.

3. Scale insects: Commonly used pesticides include buprofezin, methidathion, matrine + nicotine, chlorpyrifos and machine oil emulsion. Pay attention to improving ventilation and light transmission conditions in the orchard, and protect and utilize natural enemies such as Japanese square-headed beetles, red-spotted ladybugs and green lacewings.

4. Aphids: When the damage rate of new shoots reaches 25%, pesticide should be sprayed immediately for control. Commonly used pesticides include acetamiprid, dimethoate and carbosulfan. Attention should be paid to protecting seven-spot ladybugs, large green lacewings and aphid parasitoid wasps, cutting off overwintering eggs and reducing the pest population base.

5. Leaf miners: Promptly remove scattered summer and autumn shoots. Spray pesticide when new shoots grow to 1-2 cm, once every 7-10 days, for 2-3 consecutive times. Commonly used pesticides include abamectin, cartap and cyhalothrin.

6. Longhorn beetles: Manually capture adult star longhorn beetles and green tangerine longhorn beetles at noon on sunny days, and capture adult brown longhorn beetles in the evening. Promptly remove eggs and newly hatched larvae and cut off damaged shoots. Cotton or cotton yarn soaked in insecticides such as dimethoate can also be used to poison the larvae.

7. Flower bud midges: At the bud stage, choose trichlorfon powder, diazinon granules, etc., mix evenly with fine soil and spread it on the soil surface of the tree disc, once every 7 days, for 2-3 consecutive times. When the flower buds are 2-3 mm in diameter, choose parathion, trichlorfon, etc. to spray the tree canopy.