A Detailed Explanation of the Key Points of Year-Round Cultivation and Management Techniques for Mandarin Oranges
Mandarin orange is a famous and high-quality variety of citrus, with high nutritional value, and coupled with its sweet-and-sour taste, it is much loved by people. It is also one of the citrus varieties with stable and high yields; generally, planting for 3 years can bear fruit, and after 5 years it enters the full production period. So, what are the mandarin orange cultivation techniques? The year-round management techniques are all here!
I. January
1. Shaping and pruning
Adapt to local conditions, prune according to the tree, promote and suppress appropriately, ensure ventilation and light penetration, and achieve three-dimensional fruiting. Trunk height 20-40 cm, main branches (3-4 branches) distributed on the trunk in a well-spaced and orderly manner, trunk branching angle 30-50°, each main branch retains 2-3 secondary main branches. Generally, after the third main branch is formed, the central leader is cut off and twisted to one side to serve as a fruiting branch group.
2. Cleaning the orchard
Diseased and insect-infested branches should be removed from the orchard and burned to reduce sources of pests and diseases. Spray the canopy with 1.5-2 degree lime sulfur mixture or 95% petroleum oil emulsion at 50-80 times plus organophosphorus pesticide to kill overwintering pests and diseases, and clean the orchard.
II. February-April
Control red spider mite adults and egg masses, scale insects, moss, lichens, etc. It is suitable to apply from late February to early March before spring buds sprout. For trees with many flowers, thin out part of the fruiting mother branches bearing flower buds to promote fruiting mother branches for the next year.
III. May
Fertilizer and water management, application of plant hormones, and spring pruning (controlling spring shoots). For young fruit, control scab, red spider mite, aphids, leaf roller moth, white peach scale, chaff scale, arrowhead scale, citrus spiny whitefly, etc.
IV. June
1. Prune according to citrus type, tree vigor, yield, etc.; early pruning leads to early branch growth.
2. Improper fertilization easily causes summer shoots to sprout, competing with fruit for nutrients and causing fruit drop.
3. Control pests and diseases such as leaf roller moth, red wax scale, white peach scale, arrowhead scale, rust mite, etc.
V. July
Apply fruit-swelling fertilizer: the period of rapid fruit expansion plus the autumn shoot period, and flower buds also begin physiological differentiation. Flower bud differentiation requires day and night temperatures of about 20°C and about 10°C respectively, and the soil temperature for root growth is roughly the same as that of the aboveground part. Lower surface soil temperature, reduce water evaporation, and resist high temperature and drought.
Control pests and diseases: rust mite, red spider mite, leaf miner, cicada, longhorn beetle, canker, etc.
VI. August-October
Fruit quality is most affected in the later stage; control nitrogen and perform girdling. In addition, control leaf miner, aphids, anthracnose, whitefly, rust mite, anthracnose, etc., and prevent pre-harvest fruit drop and pests and diseases. Pre-harvest fruit drop is often accompanied by insect-damaged fruit, brown rot, and green and blue molds, and some varieties have fruit cracking.
VII. November-December
Reduce soil water-holding capacity before harvest, reduce the effect of nitrogen fertilizer, increase the sugar-acid ratio of the fruit, and make the fruit flavor richer. In frost-free areas, leave the fruit on the tree to fully ripen, increasing the sugar content by 1-2 degrees and making the color more vivid.
In addition, the growth and development, flowering and fruiting of mandarin orange trees are closely related to environmental conditions such as temperature, sunlight, moisture, soil, as well as wind, altitude, terrain, and slope aspect.