Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for Flower and Fruit Preservation in Orange Trees
Orange trees produce a large number of flowers but of poor quality, so flower and fruit drop is quite severe during cultivation, causing huge losses to yield. How to preserve flowers and fruits is one of the important measures for achieving high yields in oranges. Let us learn about it together below.
1. Timely pruning and bud removal
After orange trees bud in spring, careful thinning and pruning should be carried out. Remove the winter shoots at the top, water sprouts, diseased and pest-infested branches, and overly dense branches on the outer canopy. Leafless spherical flowers and deformed flowers should also be removed. Cut back overly long autumn shoots, leaving 3-4 flowers, while keeping strong shoots and removing weak ones. Cut off clustered branches, remove strong spring vegetative shoots at the top and outer canopy as well as overly dense weak spring shoots. Spring shoots should be pinched and cut back in time, and spring shoots, summer shoots and early autumn shoots should be thoroughly removed.
2. Flower and fruit preservation
Spray a mixture of 0.3% urea + 0.3% monopotassium phosphate + 0.2% borax once each during the bud stage, flower-falling stage and young fruit stage. After the first physiological fruit drop and before the second physiological fruit drop, spray a low-concentration compound fertilizer solution once. In late May, spray a mixture of 0.3% urea + 0.3% monopotassium phosphate once, or apply it onto the young fruits, which gives a good effect on flower and fruit preservation.
3. Preventing navel yellow fruit drop
At flower fall, in combination with flower and fruit preservation, spray thiophanate-methyl solution once. From late month to early May, spray foliar fertilizers such as amino acid compound fertilizer at 300 times dilution or Lufenwei No. 2 at 800 times dilution on the canopy. For the second physiological fruit drop, spray the canopy with a mixture of compound fertilizer + thiophanate-methyl at 800 times dilution, or apply low-concentration thiophanate-methyl solution onto the navel of the fruit, which can inhibit the occurrence of navel yellow and prevent fruit drop.
4. Water management
For fruit drop caused by fruit cracking, timely irrigation and covering the tree base with rice straw are needed during dry seasons. The straw covering thickness should be about 10-15 cm. Before covering with straw, shallow intertillage and loosening of the soil near the tree base should be carried out. From June to August, increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. For the second physiological fruit drop, use a phosphorus-potassium fertilizer solution to spot-apply onto the navel of young fruits. For slightly cracked fruits, add 70% thiophanate-methyl at 800 times dilution to the solution.
The above is an introduction to flower and fruit preservation techniques for orange trees. We hope it helps you. For more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.