What are the key points to note when growing lemons? Keep these points in mind
Lemons taste sour, and many people do not like eating them, but today lemons are mainly used to make infused water or squeezed into juice as a drink, and sometimes they are also a cooking seasoning for some chefs. Moreover, the economic benefits of lemons are now steadily rising step by step, and many friends have been attracted by this to develop lemon cultivation. But many beginners do not know how to grow them, nor what to pay attention to when growing lemons, so below the editor will introduce to everyone what to pay attention to when growing lemons!
1. Fertilizer and water management
After the lemon tree is successfully planted, nitrogen fertilizer should be used as a top dressing in the first two years, with the aim of promoting the formation of the lemon tree canopy, but the nitrogen fertilizer should also be controlled in an appropriate amount. Because if the nitrogen fertilizer is excessive, it will cause excessive vegetative growth of the lemon tree, making it impossible to ensure nutrition, and excessive nutrition will lead to early ripening of the fruit, causing flower and fruit drop. While using nitrogen fertilizer, attention should also be paid to the application of compound fertilizers such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. In autumn, organic fertilizer is used as the base fertilizer for the lemon tree, to provide sufficient nutrition for the tree body and promote flower bud germination as well as flowering and fruiting. When fertilizing, special attention should be paid during the fruit expansion period and the shoot sprouting period. Farmyard manure can be used as fertilizer, but it must be fully decomposed, and more urea and phosphorus-potassium fertilizer should be applied as top dressing. Also, the lemon tree is a fruit tree that is extremely intolerant of drought, so it must be watered and irrigated in time.
2. Intertillage and weeding
Intertillage and weeding are an indispensable step in growing lemon trees. Intertillage is to make the soil looser so that the tree roots can extend and stretch better, and it also enhances the permeability of the soil. Weeding is to prevent weeds from robbing the young trees of nutrients, water, sunlight and other nutritional substances. Especially before the high-temperature and dry season in summer, carry out intertillage and loosening of the soil in advance before the drought, making the soil looser, which has a certain effect on reducing water evaporation. Intertillage should be done at least three times a year, at least 10 cm each time, but be careful not to damage the roots.
3. Pruning and trimming
Young lemon trees have strong growth ability and a high flowering rate, and are very prone to producing water sprouts at places where branches bend and on scaffold branches, which affects the tree shape of the tree body. Therefore, the pruning and trimming of lemon trees requires tying them up with ropes so that the secondary main branches do not bend. Remove the sprouts on the scaffold branches to promote the development of the lemon. Lemon is a fruit that grows very vigorously, so when pruning, it should not be too heavy, and more branches and leaves should be kept, so that sunlight can penetrate into the canopy. Timely pinching and cutting back should be done to prevent excessive vegetative growth of the lemon, and waste branches such as diseased and disabled branches and dead branches should be gathered and burned.
4. Flower and fruit preservation
As mentioned earlier, lemon trees have very vigorous growth ability. In order to prevent the occurrence of excessive vegetative growth, too many fruits and low quality, root cutting and water control can be carried out on the fruiting branches to control their excessive vegetative growth. In the early stage of growth, about three sprays of paclobutrazol can be applied to inhibit the growth of shoots, and spraying before they mature in September can promote the formation of flower buds. If there is continuous rainy weather, especially in spring, the petals should be appropriately shaken off, which can accelerate the turning green of the lemons and also prevent pests such as tortrix moths from affecting the normal growth and development of the lemon tree.
The above are the things to note when growing lemons. Lemon is a very extreme food, known as the “king of sour fruits”. Those who like sour things love lemons, while those who do not like sour things stay away from them. Although many people do not like eating them, its market still has very large demand, so the cultivation prospects are still good. Everyone can consider it according to their own conditions and changes in market demand!