Detailed Explanation of Key Cultivation and Management Techniques for Citron

Citron, also known as goulu or gouluzi, is the fruit of a shrub or small tree in the Citrus genus of the Rutaceae family. It is currently mainly distributed in Taiwan, China, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and other regions of China with a relatively mild climate year-round. It has characteristics such as preferring warmth and moisture, fearing frost, and not tolerating cold; generally, planting sites are chosen in high-temperature and high-humidity areas. So today the task of this editor is to let everyone understand how to carry out field management of citron trees to improve the yield and quality of citron. Let's take a look at the content below.

1. Cultivation and Weeding

After citron is planted, we need to carry out cultivation and weeding at least two to three times each year. Each time we cultivate and weed, we should combine it with topdressing. The first cultivation is generally carried out before citron produces flower buds, the second is around the summer solstice, and the last is generally around November, after citron is harvested. Citron is a shallow-rooted plant, so each time we cultivate, we should cultivate shallowly and not damage the citron roots, which would affect the normal growth of citron. Of course, if conditions permit, it is best to carry out earthing up once in winter, which can maintain the tree vigor of citron trees and prevent frost damage.

2. Scientific Topdressing

Citron trees need topdressing three times a year, and the topdressing time should be consistent with the cultivation and weeding time, which is beneficial for nutrient absorption. The first topdressing is mainly based on manure and urine water, to promote the growth of branches and leaves, and at the same time promote flower bud differentiation. The second topdressing is mainly based on rapeseed cake fertilizer, or irrigation with manure and urine water, combined with appropriate urea and phosphate fertilizer diluted with water for foliar topdressing, which can promote tree vigor growth and also play a role in enlarging the fruit. The last topdressing is also called maintenance fertilizer, generally carried out only after citron is harvested, mainly using thick rapeseed cake fertilizer, manure, etc. for pile application, which can prepare for high yield in the coming year.

3. Flower and Fruit Thinning

In order to ensure the yield and quality of citron and improve the fruit-setting rate of citron, we should scientifically carry out flower and fruit thinning. Generally during the full flowering period of citron trees, we should gently knock off excess male flowers and female flowers, leaving only an appropriate number of flowers on each branch. This can reduce physiological flower drop and thereby improve the success rate of pollination. Secondly, after fruit setting, in order to avoid physiological fruit drop caused by insufficient nutrient supply, we can remove some weak fruits, deformed fruits, and diseased and insect-damaged fruits, which can ensure the quality of citron fruit to a certain extent.

4. Pruning and Shaping

In order to reduce the damage of pests and diseases to citron and improve the yield and quality of citron, reasonable pruning and shaping of branches and leaves is also indispensable. First, we should prune off the relatively messy branches growing on citron trees; second, reasonably allocate fruit-bearing branches to avoid overly dense growth of branches and leaves; also, we should thin out some weak-growing, diseased and dead branches; finally, we should control the tree shape well and maintain a certain gap between each plant, so as to effectively reduce the harm of some pests and diseases and also play a role in increasing yield.

5. Pest and Disease Control

The resistance of citron trees is actually fairly good, but their pests and diseases are also relatively frequent. The main disease is sooty mold, which we mainly prevent and control through branch and leaf pruning. There are many insect pests, generally including leaf miners, scale insects, citrus swallowtail butterflies, common mormon butterflies, aphids, red spiders, etc., and we can use trichlorfon or dimethoate for control. For butterfly-type pests, it is best to use phoxim for control, with better results.

During the planting process of citron trees, we also need to pay attention to water management. Also, at different growth stages, the points we need to focus on are different, so scientific management should be carried out according to its growth habits, so as to achieve the most ideal results.