Detailed Explanation of Wogan Mandarin Planting Methods and Technical Points
Wogan mandarin is a hybrid late-maturing citrus variety. It has very strong growth vigor; in the early stage the canopy takes on a natural round-headed shape, and after fruiting it gradually opens up. Its fruit is oblate-round, with relatively smooth orange peel and abundant vitamins, but growing Wogan mandarin is very difficult, and a single misstep can cause a large number of trees to fail to bear fruit. So how should Wogan mandarin be planted? Let's take a look below!
1. Site Selection and Fertilization
If you want to achieve early fruiting and a high, bountiful harvest, the choice of orchard is very important. When choosing a planting site, you should choose a place with fertile soil, loose soil texture and deep soil layers. The orchard should be well ventilated and sunny, far from noisy areas, and have a good drainage and irrigation system. Before planting, spread some farmyard manure and trace-element fertilizers such as calcium magnesium phosphate over the whole orchard, then carry out whole-orchard mid-tillage and earthing-up, mixing the fertilizer evenly with the soil. After plowing the land, begin making beds at a spacing of 8 m; an arched bed surface is most suitable. Each bed should have no more than four rows, with 2 m between rows and about 1 m between plants. About one month after land preparation, you can plant out.
2. Reasonable Close Planting
To let Wogan mandarin grow well and normally until fruiting and harvest, properly controlling planting density at planting time is the most critical factor. But to achieve high yield, you need to use close-planting cultivation, generally planned close planting, that is, a planting method of dense early and sparse later. The early planting density should be about 2*1 m; strengthen management, then in the second year begin trial fruiting, and in the third year start increasing yield. By the fifth year, you can begin alternate-row thinning and moving, increasing the density to 4*1 m, and then in the eighth year change the density to 4*2, after which no further changes are needed.
3. Early-Stage Management
The management of the orchard in the first two years after planting is very important. When the spring shoots of the young seedlings grow to 5 cm, begin topdressing, mainly with quick-acting fertilizer, that is, nitrogen fertilizer, once every half month, in order to promote the growth rate of new shoots. When the new shoots grow to 20 cm, promptly pinch off the tips to promote branching. Try to let them send out 3-4 flushes of new shoots in the first year, so the canopy can be expanded quickly. When fertilizing, you can use the integrated water-and-fertilizer method; in September, mainly use phosphorus and potassium fertilizer; in October, mainly use phosphorus fertilizer and organic fertilizer. When fertilizing during the growing season, mainly use foliar fertilizer and trace elements.
4. Shaping to Promote Fruiting
Wogan mandarin grows very fast, so in the first year after planting you should pay attention to training the tree shape. After planting the seedlings, immediately determine the trunk height; generally leave about 30 cm and cut back short, in order to promote branching. After the spring shoots stop growing, properly cut back short the spring shoots above 20 cm. In summer, because the summer shoots do not grow uniformly, pinch off the tips of long branches of 20 cm to prevent excessive growth of long branches. Then after the summer shoots stop growing, cut back short the longer shoots, and spray some monopotassium phosphate on the leaves to promote shoot growth, then apply an appropriate amount of nitrogen fertilizer to promote the sprouting of new shoots.
The above is a brief introduction to Wogan mandarin planting methods. Wogan mandarin is relatively difficult to grow, and growing it requires a certain level of skill. If the planting method is incorrect or management is not in place, Wogan mandarin will find it very hard to survive until the fruiting stage. Before planting, everyone must master its cultivation techniques, and also decide based on their own conditions and market demand. Do not plant blindly, otherwise the planting will ultimately be meaningless.