CITRUS

(Scientific Name: Citrus spp.; Family: Rutaceae; 2n=18)

Introduction, origin, Distribution:

 Citrus are believed to be native of tropical and sub-tropical parts of the Himalayan region,
south East Asia.
 62 Districts of Nepal grows citrus fruits.
 42 Districts have commercial cultivation. Such as Dhankuta , Bhojpur , Tapleung, Khotang,
Dadeldhura, Kalikot, Kavre, Ramechhap, Bhojpur, Sindhuli etc.
 Mandarin covers about 62% of the total citrus production followed by Junar 22%, Lime
12%, Lemon 3% and others 1%
 TSS ranges from 8-15% in citrus fruits and vitamin C from 25-85mg.
 Fruit are used as squash, Juice, marmalade, fresh fruits, lemonade etc.

Area and production:

 During the year of 2014/15 39000 ha and production was 223000 MT .

Flowering & Fruiting:

 The main blooming period is spring (March April/ after dormancy)

 Flowers are formed on new vegetative growths that arise from the dormant buds on older
leafy stems.
 Two types of flower i.e. male and hermaphrodite are produced on the same tree, intensity
varying with the species, season, and nutrition.

Common Name: Botanical Name:

Mandarin Orange Citrus reticulata
Sweet orange Citrus sinensis
Lime Citrus aurantifolia
Lemon Citrus limon

Cultivation Practices:
Climate:

 Citrus trees are evergreen, grows well in subtropical climates of the world although in
tropical regions of the world.
 Citrus fruits grow best between a temperature range of 13˚C to 37 ˚ C.
 Soil temperature around 25 ˚ C seems to be optimum for root growth.
 The best climatic condition suitable for Mandarin and Sweet orange is 1000-14000 msl
with annual average temperature of 19 0
 lime can be cultivated successfully 500-1400masl and lemon 500-1000msl.
 increase in altitude, the fruit of mandarin and orange becomes smaller, more acidic with
low humidity favor seed color and external appearance.
 high humidity favors thin skinned juicy fruits.
 annual rainfall of 1250-1850 mm is require.

Cultivars:

 Mandarin Orange: Pokhara local, Dhankuta local, Decopon, Murcott, Okichu, Imamura
Wase, Nagpuri, Khasi, Kinnow etc.
 Sweet orange: Junar, Valencia, Pineapple, Malta blood Red, Rubi, Vanila, Washington
Navel, Thompson, Yoshida Navel, Morita etc.
 Lime: Sun Kagati, Kagzi lime, Persian lime, mexican lime etc
 Lemon: Eureka Round, Eureka oblong, Nepali Oblong, Lisbon, Pant-1 etc

Soil:

 Require wide range of soils; deep (2-3m), well drained, free of excess salt (i.e. less than
1000ppm), Sandy loam soil is best for raising citrus nurseries. pH 5.5-6.5

Propagation:

Seed

 The seeds should be sown soon after extraction within three days; otherwise it is likely to
lose viability.
 Sowing of seeds is done during spring (Feb-March).
 The time taken for germination may vary from 2-3 weeks.
 Six to nine months or one year after sowing, the seedlings are transplanted in a nursery
bed for hardening them.
Asexual Propagation:

 Budding is by far the most common method practiced universally in citriculture.

 T-budding or shield budding, patch budding
 The operation is either carried out in spring or August-September.
 Air layering
 Cutting

Planting Distance:

 Mandarin Normal spacing – 6 m x 6 m

 Sweet orange Normal spacing – 5 m x 5 m
 Limes/lemons Normal spacing – 6 x 6 m / 5 x 5 m
 pit of 1m x 1m x 1m
 Planting season– monsoon and spring

Weed Control:

 Eradication of weed is essential at any time of year.

 For Nepalese condition, cutting, burning, hand and mechanical weeding, raising intercrop
and chemical control can be practiced.
 The most commonly used herbicides in citrus is Monuron, Diuron, Simazine, Bromacil.

Intercropping:

 Crop like onion, chili, potato, soybean, cabbage, can be grown as safe intercrop.

Manuring & Fertilization:

Recommended dose of fertilizer in kg/plant

Age Super
FYM Ammonium sulphate MOP
(Year) phosphate

1 15 0.3 – 0.10
 2 20 0.5 0.1 0.15

3 30 0.7 0.2 0.20

4 40 1.0 0.4 0.40

5 50 1.5 0.6 0.50

6 50 1.7 0.7 0.70

7 and
50 2.0 1.0 1.0
above

Doses should be applied in 2-3 split doses before flowering when new leaves and shoots are
formed and after fruit set and during the time of fruit development.

IRRIGATION :
 Irrigation requirements depend upon soil and weather conditions.
 Irrigations should be regular during fruit development.
 Water should never come in direct contact with the trunk of the tree; for this reason,
double ring or check bund method is best suited for this crop.
 Presently drip irrigation is becoming popular which helps in saving of irrigation water.
 Stopping irrigation 1 or 2 months prior to flowering is beneficial to the crop, till the tree
withers and drops half of its leaves.

Training: Modified center leader system must be practiced.

Harvesting:
Being non-climacteric, the citrus fruits fail to ripen and improve in taste after harvest. So, the
fruit should be harvested only when they are fully ripe.

Yield:
  Sweet orange/Mandarin: 1000-1500 fruits/tree
 Lemon: 500-700 fruits/tree
 Lime: about 1000 fruits/tree

POST-HARVEST HANDLING AND STORAGE:

 Post-harvest handling consists mainly of washing, drying, storing, grading and wrapping
in tissue paper and packing in corrugated boxes.
 Fruits can be stored for 20 days at room temperature by dipping in 500 ppm Benlate or
0.1 % carbendazim (Bavistin).
MARKETING: f
Fruits are graded based on variety, size, and ripens to maximize commercial values. The
graded fruits are packed in wooden boxes, cartoons, Tokari etc and transported on trucks for sale
at local or distant market.

Major physiological problems of Citrus

a. Granulation:

 It is the physiological disorder of the juice sacs of citrus fruits where they become
comparatively hard, assumes a grayish color and become somewhat enlarged.

Factors Affecting Granulation:

 Climate: humid climate

 Species and cultivars: sweet orange
 Mineral nutrition: boron and zinc deficiency
 Enzymes and plant growth regulator: Higher level of auxins, cytokines and abscissic acid
and low gibberellins

Control:

 Three spray of 25 ppm Boric acid, 1% Potassium nitrate and 2% Calcium hydroxide at
monthly intervals starting from 10 September reduced granulation.
 b. Fruit Drop:
A heavy shedding of flowers and fruits, right from the flowering stage to harvesting time occurs
in citrus. It is common observation that not more than 7-8% of flowers develop into mature fruit.

 Post setting drop: a drop after fruit set due to over population and lack of pollination and
fertilization.
 Summer or June drop– this occurs in late spring or early summer when the temperature
is high and air and soil are dry.
 Pre harvest drop– drop of mature fruit due to auxins and gibberellins deficiency.

Physiological cause of fruit drop

 Lack of pollination and fertilization.

 Hormonal imbalance.
 A very hot or dry speel for a long period.
 Lack of adequate moisture in a soil.
 Insects pests like citrus bud mite, mealy bug, fruit flies and diseases

Control:
Spray 10 ppm of 2,4-D in September about 2 months before harvesting.

Insects pests of Citrus:

1. Citrus psylla (Diaphorina citri)

 Damage is caused by the nymphs and adults which suck sap from buds and tender leaves
 It also acts as a vector of greening disease.

Control:

 Prune affected shoots and destroy.

 Spray Monocrotophos (0.05%) or Dimethoate (0.05%) or Phosalone (0.05%).
 First spray should coincide with emergence of new flush. Repeat once or twice at 10–12
days intervals.

2. Leaf miner (Phyllocnistis citrella)

 Adult moths are small white

 The eggs are laid on tender leaves.
  The larvae feed on the epidermis of tender leaves making serpentine mines which are
silvery in colour.

Control measures:

 Prune affected shoots and burn.

 Spray Monocrotophos (0.045%) or Dimethoate (0.03%) during initiation of new flush.

3. Whiteflies (Dialeurodes citri) Blackflies (Aleurocanthus woglumi

 Nymphs and adults suck sap from ventral side of the tender leaves, excrete honeydew
and encourage the development of sooty mould. The infested plants lose vigor and fruit
production is adversely affected.

Control measures:

 Avoid dense planting and stress on the plants.

 Clip-off and destroy the infested shoots at the initial stage of infestation.
 spray Phosphamidon (0.05%) or Dimethoate (0.045%).
 Spraying should coincide with initiation of new flush. If required spray once or twice at
10–12 days interval.

4. Lemon butterfly (Papilio demolius)

 The caterpillars which are brownish black at initial stage and green at mature stage feed
on tender leaves and defoliate the entire trees. Young plants in nursery are seriously
affected.

Control measures: Clip-off the affected leaves with caterpillars and destroy. Spray 0.1%
Carbaryl.

5. Fruit Flies (Dacus dorsalis)

 Fruit flies puncture the rind of the fruit at the pre-harvest stage and lays eggs inside the
fruit. The maggots hatch from the eggs and feed on the fruit pulp the affected fruits fail
to ripen and drop prematurely.
 Control: Collection and destruction of infested fruits reduces the insect population. Use
of flytraps containing 1% Methyl Eugenol and 0.5% Malathion mixed with sugar syrup two
months prior to harvesting is effective.

6. Aphids (Toxoptera citricida):

Aphids feed on flower and leaf buds and on the underside of leaves (mainly feather
growth), causing leaves to curl toward the stem. Spirea aphid, black aphid and cotton
aphid can all transmit citrus tristeza virus.

Control:

 Spray plants with Parathion (0.03%), Malathion (0.03%), Monocrotophos (0.025%) or

Phosphamidon (0.035%) effectively control this pest.

Diseases
1) Foot rot or Gummosis

 This disease is caused by a soil-inhabiting fungus (Phytophthora spp) which attacks the
trunk of the tree.
 The symptoms appear as yellowing of leaves, followed by cracking of bark and profuse
gumming on the surface.
 This causes the bark to rot and the eventual die back of the tree.
 The main contributing factors to this disease are water logging and a susceptible rootstock
e.g. Rough Lemon.

2) Citrus Canker

 bacterial disease caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv citri.

 Citrus canker is mainly a leaf spotting and rind blemishing disease; however, when
condition favour disease development defoliation, shoot die back and fruit drop occurs.
 Pruning of affected twigs before the onset of monsoon and sparying with 1 percent
Bordeaux mixture at periodical intervals can check this disease.
 Spraying with sulphur containing chemicals can also check this disease.

3) Citrus Tristeza Virus:

 The most efficient vector is T. citricida (the brown citrus aphid).

 Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is one of the most destructive viruses that affect citrus and it is
a major cause of the decline and eventual death of trees on sour orange rootstock.
 Common symptoms include reduced fruit size, leaf vein-clearing, yellowing and cupping
of leaves, and stem pitting.

Control: It is necessary to spray nursery plants and young trees with insecticide occasionally, to
control aphids. This should retard any re-infection with the virus.

4) Sooty mould

 Causal organism: Capnodium citris

Symptoms
Black coloured sooty mass can be seen covering the leaf surface and sometimes on young
stems and fruit surfaces. Black sooty mass contains conidia and mycelia in it affects the
normal photosynthesis process due to which plant growth decreases.

Management

 Spraying systemic insecticides like (Dimethane M-45 2gm/l of water ) to manage the
insects population can also help in avoiding or reducing sooty mold.