What Are the Prospects for Growing Jinqiu Shatang Mandarin? Key Points of Cultivation Techniques Explained

Shatang mandarin is a very popular fruit, delicious and extremely sweet, seedless, with a delicate texture and rich in nutrients, and it is widely welcomed by the market. So how does growing Jinqiu Shatang mandarin fare? What are the cultivation techniques?

1. How does growing Jinqiu Shatang mandarin fare?

1. Variety origin

Jinqiu Shatang mandarin was developed in 2006 by Mr. Cao Li of the Citrus Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Citrus Research Institute of Southwest University). It first flowered and fruited in 2009, was transferred to Sichuan Taoran Company in 2012, and was trial-planted in Pujiang County, Sichuan Province. It was later gradually expanded to Ganzhou, Nankang and other areas of Jiangxi Province. Now there are more than 1000 licensed nursery stock customers nationwide.

2. Variety positioning

Although the name Jinqiu Shatang mandarin contains the three characters “Shatang mandarin”, it is not a Shatang mandarin, but a hybrid citrus. The female parent is ‘Ehime No. 30’ and the male parent is ‘Shatang mandarin’. Jinqiu ripens in mid-October and is an early-maturing variety. The harvest and market period for Jinqiu is from late October to the end of November. During this period, Shatang mandarin is not yet on the market, so it happens to fall in a market gap. Therefore, the variety positioning of Jinqiu Shatang mandarin is first and foremost an early-maturing variety, and it should not be compared with ordinary Shatang mandarin, Wogan and the like.

3. Suitable regions

Since Jinqiu Shatang mandarin was promoted nationwide in 2015, it has performed quite well in the advantageous citrus belt of southern Jiangxi, southern Hunan and northern Guangxi. It is not recommended to plant it in the Yichang and Jingzhou areas, where freezing damage is severe and cultivation costs are much higher than elsewhere.

2. Cultivation techniques

1. Fertilizer and water

Jinqiu is relatively a variety with fairly vigorous tree growth, and management requires heavy fertilizer and abundant water, just like Wogan. With sufficient fertilizer and water, the leaves that emerge are relatively broad and large, with the largest as big as pomelo leaves;

Flower and fruit preservation: the rootstocks currently used for grafting Jinqiu include Xiangcheng, trifoliate orange, red tangerine, citrange and others. Based on fruiting performance, none of them require girdling for fruit preservation, but 920 still needs to be sprayed, at the same concentration as for ordinary Shatang mandarin fruit preservation, used 2 times.

2. Pests and diseases

As an early-maturing variety, Jinqiu, like Wenzhou mandarin and Ehime 28, requires attention to the control of fruit flies and fruit-sucking noctuid moths; otherwise many fruits will drop. In addition, there is brown spot disease, which especially requires pesticide control during the rainy season.

3. Yield control

Jinqiu has strong productivity and bears fruit in clusters. If not controlled reasonably, it will fail to send out autumn shoots, leading to reduced yield the following year and, in severe cases, weakened tree growth. Therefore, the fruit load should be reasonably controlled. For clusters of fruit, the top 1-3 fruits can be cut off to release shoots.

Overall, compared with other varieties, Jinqiu is relatively easy to manage. Vigorous tree growth, no need for girdling to preserve fruit, early harvest requiring no film covering for frost protection, and resistance to canker disease are all advantages.