How to manage Citron

Citron, also known as citron, is the fruit of a shrub or small tree of the genus Citrus in Rutaceae. At present, it is mainly distributed in Taiwan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and other areas with relatively mild climate throughout the year. It has the characteristics of warmth, moisture, frost, cold resistance and so on; generally, the planting land will choose in the area of high temperature and humidity. So the task of the editor today is to let everyone know how to manage citrus trees in the field and improve the output and quality of citron. Let's take a look at the following.

1. Ploughing and weeding

After planting citron, we have to carry out intertillage and weeding at least two or three times a year. Every time when ploughing and weeding, it should be combined with topdressing. The first intertillage was usually carried out before the emergence of buds in citron, the second around the Summer Solstice, and the last around November, after the citron was harvested. Citron is a kind of shallow root plant, so we have to carry out shallow ploughing every time, so as not to hurt the root system of citron and affect the normal growth of citron. Of course, if there are conditions, it is best to cultivate the soil in winter, so as to ensure the tree potential of the citron tree to prevent frost damage.

2. Scientific topdressing

Citrus tree planting needs topdressing three times a year, and the time of topdressing is the same as that of weeding, which is beneficial to the absorption of nutrients. The first topdressing is mainly based on feces and urine, which not only promotes the growth of branches and leaves, but also promotes the differentiation of flower buds. The second topdressing is based on vegetable cake fertilizer, or dung and urine irrigation, combined with appropriate urea and phosphate fertilizer mixed with water for extra-root topdressing, which can promote the growth of tree potential and strengthen the fruit at the same time. The last topdressing, also known as conservation fertilizer, is usually carried out after the citron harvest, mainly with thick vegetable cake fertilizer, feces and so on, so as to prepare for the high yield in the coming year.

3. Thinning flowers and fruits

In order to ensure the output and quality of citron and improve the fruit setting rate of citron, we should thinning flowers and fruits scientifically. In general, during the flowering period of the citron tree, we have to gently tap the excess male and female flowers, leaving only appropriate flowers on each branch. This can reduce the physiological drop of flowers, so as to improve the success rate of pollination. Secondly, after fruit setting, in order to avoid physiological fruit drop caused by insufficient nutrition supply, we can remove some weak fruit, deformed fruit, disease and insect fruit, which can ensure the quality of citron fruit to a certain extent.

4. Pruning and shaping

In order to reduce the damage of diseases and insect pests to citron and improve the yield and quality of citron, reasonable pruning and shaping of branches and leaves are also essential. First of all, we should prune off the relatively messy branches of citrus trees; secondly, we should distribute the fruit branches reasonably to avoid excessive growth of branches and leaves; and we should remove some weak, sick and dead branches; finally, we should control the tree shape and maintain a certain gap between each plant, so as to effectively reduce the harm of some diseases and insect pests and improve the yield at the same time.

5. Disease and pest control

The resistance of citrus tree is actually quite good, but its diseases and insect pests are also more frequent. The most important disease is soot, which is mainly prevented by pruning branches and leaves. It has many pests, such as leaf miner, shell worm, orange butterfly, jade belt Phoenix butterfly, aphid, spider and so on. We can use trichlorfon or dimethoate to control them. For butterfly pests, it is best to use phoxim for control, the effect is better.

In the process of planting citrus trees, we also need to pay attention to water management. In addition, in its different growth periods, we need to focus on different points, so we should carry out scientific management according to its growth habits, so as to achieve the most ideal results.