Cultivation Techniques of Citrus Planting Citrus
a. Soil
Citrus grows well in light soil, but citrus can also grow in heavy loam if proper rootstock is used and there are good drainage conditions. Soils with a pH above 8.0 are detrimental to citrus growth. Citrus is sensitive to soil salinity and boron (even in deep soils) and is sensitive to the compacted soil. Citrus roots are mainly distributed in 0.90 m soil layers and vary depending on irrigation conditions. Most of the aerobic activity roots are distributed in the top 30 cm soil layers.
b. Moisture
Citrus needs irrigation during the dry months, so when the winter is dry and the temperature is above 13 degrees Celsius, it must be irrigated. In addition, dehydration is dangerous and it causes the fruit's moisture to flow toward the leaves causing the fruit to wither. In Israel, citrus trees are averagely irrigated for 7 months, with daily irrigation of 3.5mm, total irrigation of 700-800mm, and irrigation in hot areas up to 1100mm. In the past, irrigation mainly used furrow irrigation or sprinkler irrigation on the upper part of the canopy. However, sprinkler irrigation has the risk of salinization, and furrow irrigation can cause soil permeability to decrease. Nowadays, it is apt to use drip irrigation and micro-sprinkler irrigation technology under the canopy to form ribbon irrigation, and part of the soil surface is kept dry. After many experiments, the irrigation parameters of citrus were as follows:
The irrigation parameters of citrus under drought conditions were: January-May 0.7, June-September 0.65, and October-November 0.7.
c. Fertilizer
There are many different opinions on the amount of fertilizer needed for citrus, and relevant experiments are being conducted in the region. It is generally believed that fertilization should be stopped in July, otherwise it is not conducive to changes in fruit color. Because fertilizing causes the fruit to remain green, all fertilizers are applied in spring and early summer to mid-July. In many areas, the amount of fertilizer applied per hectare is: 200-250 kg of nitrogen, 100 kg of phosphorus, and 200-500 kg of potassium.
In general, citrus leaves are determined in the fall to determine the need for nitrogen and phosphorus. The most recent different tests have shown that applying 300 kg of nitrogen per hectare can increase the yield.
d. Spacing
The most common distance is 4X6 meters, but there is a tendency to use different cultivation methods to make the citrus grow densely in the later period. Therefore, the spacing of 4X3 meters and even 4X1.5 meters is often used.
e. Density
Usually 410 plants are planted per hectare, and there are also 800 or even 1600 plants per hectare in dense planting.
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