Cultivation of Sweet Orange

Sweet orange cultivation practice

About citrus group

Botanical name: Citrus spp.
Family: Rutaceae
Sub-family: Aurantaoideae.
Fruit type: Modified berry, called – Hesperidium
Edible portion: Juicy placental hairs.
Citrus groups
Sweet orange: Citrus sinensis
Grape fruit: Citrus paradise
Pummelo: Citrus grandis
Acid lime: Citrus aurantifolia.
Sweet lemon: Citrus limmettoides
Lemon: Citrus limon
Mandarin: Citrus raticulata.

Also read: Propagation methods in fruit plants

Sweet orange cultivation

Botanical name: Citrus Sinensis osbeck
Family: Rutaceae
Origin: China
Sweet orange is the 2nd largest citrus fruit cultivated in India.
Citrus fruits rank third in area and second in production.
Maximum area under sweet orange is in A.P, M.H and Karnataka.
Climate and soil
It grows well in dry, semi-arid to sub tropical condition.
Average temperature for growth: 16-20 °C.
Maximum limit of temperature: 32-40 °C.
Annual rainfall: 500-775 mm.
Well drained sandy loam or clay loam is best for sweet orange.
pH should be 6.5-7.5.

Planting

It is done during monsoon.
Pit size is 60 × 60 × 60 cm.
Planting distance: 6 × 6 m.
Planting system: Square system.

Training and pruning

Training: Single stem system.
It should be completed in first three years.

Pruning

It is done in pre-bearing trees.
Best time is late winter or early spring.
The cut end of pruning should be treated with Bordeaux paste to control fungal attack.
Pruning in bearing stage is done generally after harvesting.

Manuring and fertilizers

For mature tree, fertilizer is applied in a 30-40 cm wide ring.

Fertilizer recommendation for pre-bearing stage (up to 5 yrs) 1st year 10 kg/tree + 10 kg more in every year.
NPK: DAP 0.25 kg/tree/year + 0.25 kg in every year.
Superphosphate: 0.5 kg/tree + 0.5 kg/tree/year.
Bonemeal : 0.5 kg/tree + 0.5 kg extra.
For bearing trees: NPK 1500, 350, 400 gm/tree/year, FYM: 30 kg/tree/year. After care
Intercropping: Suitable intercrops are soybean, cotton, pea, turnip, cabbage, bottle gourd, okra etc.
Weed control: Application of Diuron as pre-emergence weedicides @ 3 kg/ha and post emergence weedicide Formoxone @ 5 kg/ha in 500 hrs of water is more effective.

Irrigation

Best method is double ring method/bed Irrigation interval is 6-8 days.
In young plants up to age of 8 years, adopt basin irrigation system.
In grown up old orchard, adopt flood system of irrigation
Drip irrigation is also practiced in Maharastra
Number of irrigation in a year: 20-25.
Total amount of water required: 1325 mm/year.
Most critical stage for irrigation is fruit development stage.
Sweet orange are susceptible to water logging, phytopthora rot and therefore water stagnation should be avoided.

Harvesting

Matures in 9-12 months.
Sweet orange is a non-climatirc fruit.
It should be harvested at fully ripe stage.
Main harvesting season: For north India: December to February, for south India: October to March, and for central India: November to January.
Harvesting time mainly depends on TSS and acid ratio.

Varieties of Sweet orange and TSS:Acid ratio

Mausambi    30 : 1
Pineapple   14 : 1
Jaffa   14 : 1
Blood red   14 : 1
Valencia    10 : 1

Fruit should be harvested at least 8% sugar
Acidity varies from 0.3 to 0.8 %.

Post harvest management

For packaging: Corrugated boxes are commonly used that increases shelf life.
For reducing spoilage:Frruits dipping or spraying with 5 %. Benlate (500 ppm solution) and keep them in room temperature.
Sweet orange can be effectively stored at 4.4 °C for 2-3 months and 2 °C for 4 months (RH 85-90%)

Propagation

Commercial method: T- budding or shield budding.

Yield

A full grown tree yields 500 fruits /tree/ year.

Varieties

Exotic variety

Early season variety: Hamlin
Mid season variety: Jaffa , pineapple
Late season variety: Valencia.
Variety cultivated in India commercially: Blood red.
Mosambi: Widely grown in Maharastra and best rootstock is rangpur lime.
Satgudi: Im Andhra Pradesh and best root stock is rough lemon.

Note

Blood red is most popular in North India and is the best root stock for Karnakhatta, Jatti, Khatha.
Shamouti is the seedless variety of sweet orange
Pine apple and Valencia they are susceptible to citrus greening.
Other some important varieties: Malta, Washington, Navel.