CITRUS

Botanical Name: Citrus sps. Family: Rutaceae

Origin: Tropical and Subtropical regions of south East Asia.

Citrus fruits are a group of fruits comprising of mandarins, sweet oranges, grape fruit,
limes and lemons etc., Citrus fruits have a prominent place among popular,
extensively grown tropical and subtropical fruits. In India citrus is considered to be the
third most important fruit crop.
Citrus fruits possess juice sacks. Unlike other fruits they lack firm pulp.Mostly citrus
fruits are consumed as fresh fruits particularly sweet oranges,mandarinsand grape
fruit. Citrus fruits are not only delicious and refreshing but also they provide vitamins,
minerals and many other substances. Citrus fruits contain considerable amounts of
Vitamin C. Fruits are also good source of Vitamin and P.The mild bitterness in juice
isdue to the presence of glucoside called Naringin which is said to have a medicinal
value. The rind of the citrus fruits is rich in pectin and essential oils.
Important citrus species: There are several citrus fruits in the world. Some are
ancient ones and some are recent ones. Citrus species readily crosses with each
other .so new types are coming up from time to time.
There are 16 species in the genus Citrus as per Swingle (1943) and 144 species as
per Tanaka (1950).Hence classification of the kinds and varieties are complicated.
Anabundance of locally used names and changing botanical nomenclature also
hindersdistinct classification.
Important Citrus Species:
1. Sweet orange Citrus sinensis
2. Mandarin Orange Citrus reticulata
3 Acid lime Citrus aurantifolia
4. Lemon Citrus limon
5 Grape fruit Citrus paradisi
6 PummeloCitrusgrandis
7. Citron Citrus medica
8. Sweet lime Citrus limettoides
9 GaganimmaCitruspennivesiculata
10 Vadlapudi Orange Citrus madaraspatana
11. Sour Orange Citrus aurantium
12 Rough lemon Citrus jamberi
13 Rangapur Lime Citrus limonia

The most important commercial citrus cultivars in India are the Mandarins followed by
sweet orange,andacid lime & lemons sharing 41,23& 23 per cent, respectably of all
citrus fruits produced in the country.Out of 100 mtonnes(World total production) India
produces 8.6 mtonnes(China,Brazil& USA produces 23.5,15.5 & 10.0 mtonnes
respectably)
Important citrus cultivars grown in India:
(1)Sweet Orange: More than half a dozen varieties are cultivated. Among them the
important ones are-Sathgudi, Mosambi and Batavian,
The other varieties of Sweet Orange are-Malta, Malta Blood Red, Jaffa, Hamlin,
Washington Navel Orange and Pineapple,Valencia.
(2)Mandarin Oranges: The important commercially grown varieties are- Nagapur
Mandarin, Coorg Mandarin, Khasi Orange, Kinnow Mandarin
Kinnow Mandarin is a hybrid between King Mandarin (C.nobilis) and willow leaf
Mandarin (C.deliciosa).
The other varieties are- Ponkan, Satsuma Mandarin, DancyTangarin, Darjeeling or
Sikkim Orange and Cleopatra Mandarin.
(3)Limes and Lemons: These are acid fruits. Generally employed for preparing
drinks.
Limes-These include Acid lime, Key lime, Mexican Lime, Tahiti lime, Sweet lime,
Coorg lime and Rangapur lime and sour lime. Among them the mostly cultivated one
is acid lime. The important varieties of acid lime are -Vikram, Pramalini, Chakradhar,
Balaji ,JayDevi,SaiSharbati,BaramasiKagzi,Seedless lime.
Lemons: Often confused with limes. These are grown in small scale in pockets. In this
there are two types. They are seeded and seedless.
Seed Varieties-Lisbon, Villa Franca, Eureka, Nepali Round, Nepali Oblong and
Rajhamundry.
Seedless Varieties- Malta, Lucknow and Italian.
Grapefruit-Duncan,Marshseedless,Rubyred,Saharanpur special.
Pummelo-Chakotra,Gagar,Local selection
Climate: The sub-tropical climate is the best suited for citrus growth and
development.Temperature below - 40C is harmful for the young plants. Soil temperature
around250C seems to be optimum for root growth. Dry and arid conditions coupled with
welldefined summer having low rainfall (ranging from 75cm to 250 cm) are
mostfavourable for the growth of the crop. High humidity favours spread of many
diseases.Frost is highly injurious. Hot wind during summer results in desiccation and
drop offlowers and young fruits.
Soil: Citrus can grow well in wide range of soils Citrus fruits flourish well on light
soilswith a good drainage. Deep soils with pH range of 5.5 to 7.5 are considered
good.However, they can grow in pH range of 4 to 9. Presence of calcium carbonate
concentration within feeding zone may adversely affect the growth. Light loam on
heavier but well drained sub-soils appears to be ideal for citrus.
Propagation: Seeds exhibit 45-90% polyembryony.The seedlings are comparatively
more free from decline and other virus diseases which are not transmitted through
seed. Yet the yields are not good compared to budded plants on account of the
beneficial responses of the root stock viz.,earliness,high yield and adaptability to the
environment and soil, good quality, resistance to diseases and pests.
Vegetative propagation methods like budding are practiced. Shield budding or
Tbuddingis practiced all over the world. The varieties to be propagated should be
wellknown for their good performance and free from diseases. The root stock should
becompatible with the scions and well adapted to the soils of the regions where trees
areintended to be grown.
Rootstocks: The stock and scion must be compatible and should be capable of
producing long lived, productive trees. The influence of the most important and
widelyused root stocks and their characteristics should be known to the grower for
choosingthe right kind of stock for the locality.The most commonly used stocks for sweet
orange as well as mandarins in India areJamberi (Rough Lemon) and KarnaKhatta.The
following rootstocks have been tried to study their influence.
1. Jamberi: With more number of seeds, high percentage of germination and
polyembryony is a vigorous stock for Sathgudi. The tree top is oval. Fruits are large,
rind is rough and thick and juice is insipid. Mortality is very high due to quick decline
orother diseases out of use.
2. Gajanimma: It has all the good nursery characters of Jamberi and has a prolific butis
susceptible to gummosis and collar rot resulting in high mortality and hence
disordered.
3. Trifoliate Orange: It is the hardiest root stock and does well in forestry areas.
Resistant to many virus diseases. The plant gets dwarfed on this root stock and is
frost resistant.
4. Karnakhatta: It is found to be most common and satisfactory rootstock for grape
fruit, for heavy and wet soil to Punjab and U.P.
5. Sathgudi seedling: Suitable for moderately heavy soils. It gives smooth joint. The
trees are long lived being tolerant to decline. Yields are moderate. Fruits are of fine
quality and good keeping quality.
6. Rangpur lime: It is used as stock for Mosambi in Bombay region. It is a vigorous
grower, resistant to many of the virus diseases chiefly Tristeza virus. It gives high
yields with fruits of much better quality and hence recommended as stock for sweet
orange.
7.Acid lime: Slow growth. Thorns make it difficult to bud. Resistant to high water
tableconditions.
8. Kichili: Drought resistant. Slow growth and gives a globular tree.
9. Pummelo: It has given a dwarf tree.
10. Wood apple: Dwarfs Sathgudi very much. Reduces prebearing period, longevity
and yield but increases the sweetness of fruit.
11. Sweet Lime: It is a satisfactory stock for Nagpur Santhra with better quality and
tighter skin.
Raising of root stock seedlings: - Seeds freshly extracted from mature fruits
pickedfrom healthy, vigorous and good yielding trees are sown on raised beds during
July-Aug. The slimy substance on the seeds is removed by mixing by them with wood
ashand drying them under shade. The seeds take 20-30 days to germinate and in
anothermonth, a pair of leaves emerge. After 3 or 4 months 60cm in height. The
seedlings aretransplanted late the nursery beds under shade and spaced 20cm apart
and theseedlings will be ready in a year.
Selecting bud wood: Buds should be collected from a tree or trees of the desired
variety. Bud sticks are commonly selected from the next to last growth flush (the
wood behind the current flush) and from the current growth flush after it has matured
and hardened. Older growth flushes can be used if the bark still is green.
Round twigs about the size of a pencil are preferred. The buds located in the axils of
the leaves (where the leaf is attached to the wood) should be well developed, but still
dormant.After the bud wood is cut from the tree, the undesirable wood and/or growth
flushshould be removed and the remaining bud wood should be trimmed to lengths of
20-25 cm (8-10 inches). The leaves should be cut off leaving a stub of the petiole 3-
4mm(1/8 inch) long to protect the buds.Trimmed bud sticks should be labeled and used
immediately or placed in plastic bagsin a cool place. Include a moist paper towel to
maintain turgidity and freshness. Thelabel should include the variety, date of collection
and source. Bud sticks are usuallytied in bundles for ease of handling.
Budding: The seedlings are ready for budding in about a year and budding along
with a chip of wood gives good results. In mandarin the removal of wood seems to
decrease the percentage of success. Generally done winter in July or in September
inSouth India and October and December in North India. T-Budding or Shield budding
iseasy to perform. The root stock is generally budded at a height of about 9”.
Sweet Orange: It is propagated by Shield or T- budding. The root stocks mainly
usedareJamberi and Rangapur lime. In Andhra Pradesh mainly Rangapur lime is used
asa rootstock.
Acid Lime: It is commonly propagated by seed all over the country because the
seeds exhibit a high percentage of polyembryony. The nucellar seedlings are
identicalwith the parent in growth and production. These seedlings are hardy compared
to thebudded plants. The seedlings take a little longer time than budded plants to
startbearing but soon over take them in yield. If budded, gajanimma is a prolific stock
butthere is scope for the spread and transmission of diseases and the budlings are
shortlived.
Lemons, Grape Fruit and Pummelo: Italian lemon which is seedless, it is
propagated by budding on Jambheri in the Deccan region. For lemons the root
stocksfound suitable in Punjab and U.P are Rough lemon and
kharnaKatta.Pummeloiscomparativelymonoembryonic and hence budded plants of
pummelo are usuallyraised on the root stocks of JattiKatt, iJamberietc.Similar is the
case ofGrapefruit.Pummelo as a root stock is found compatible with grape fruit.
Mandarins: Mandarins are largely propagated by seed all over the country except
NagapurSanthra which is the only budded variety grown on a commercial scale
aroundNagapur (Vidharba) in Maharastra producing the finest mandarins of the world.
Planting:
Preparation of the filed: The land is ploughed until a fine tilth is obtained. If it is a
virgin land all the existing vegetation should be removed along with the roots. The
landisleveled and pits are marked as per the system of planting to be adopted.
Lay out: The square system of layout is commonly followed for planting the citrus
crop. In order to facilitate orchard management practices economically and
efficiently.Citrus trees should be planted in straight rows.
Digging of Pits: Pits of ½m x ½ m x ½ m size may be dug at required distances 3-4
weeks prior to planting. But where the soils are shallow or under laid with hard pan,
pits of 1mx1mx1m may be dug to facilitate better root penetration. Before planting
thepits are filled with 25kg of FYM, 1kg of bone meal, 3kg of wood ash and 50g of
aldrindust powder for control of termites
Planting Season: Planting is done from July to December. In low or scarce rainfall
regions, planting should be done at the beginning of the monsoon season (June/July)so
that the humid weather helps the young plants to get established fast. In areas ofhigh
rainfall, (1000 mm and above) planting should be done at the end of the
southwestmonsoon season (October-December.)
Spacing: Spacing adopted for different citrus species are--
For Sweet Orange,Mandarin,Lemon,Pummelo and Grape Fruit- 6-8 m
For Acid lime 5-6 m.
Irrigation: Sweet orange trees are much more specific in their water requirement
thanany other fruit crops. Higher requirement of water is needed to produce
satisfactorycrop. Most of the santra plantations in India are rain fed conditions.
Irrigationrequirement of santra trees in the plains is similar to that of sweet orange,
Irrigation should be given when the top of the soil goes dry of once in 7-15 days
dependingon the soil and weather. Irrigation water should not directly touch the tree
trunk as itspreads diseases like gummosis and the soil should not be allowed to
togetexcessively dry as it results in leaf fall.Irrigation should be given immediately after
manuring.Water is very essential duringblossoming and fruiting periods. Any shortage of
water during maturity periods causesshrinking of the fruit and drying up of the pulp. As
the trees advances in age thebasins should be extended up to the drip of the tree.
Manures and fertilizers:Tomeetthehigh demands for nutrients and to maintain plant
productivity, organic manures aresupplemented with chemical fertilizers. The fertilizer
schedule recommended is
Age of Plant Sathgudi Acid Lime
N P 20 5k2o N P 2o K2o
gms gms
1 Year 300 70 80 375 150200
2 Year 600 140 160 750 300 400
3 Year 900 210 240 1125 450600
4th Year 1200280 320 1500 600 800
5th Year & above 1500350 400 1500 600 800
Fertilizers should be applied in a circular band at a radial distance of 120 cm from
thetrunk of the plant is the most beneficial. Deep placement of fertilizers should be
avoided. In fact, the maximum root activity in sweet orange plantation was found
within a depth of 25 cm while in acid lime they are more surface oriented, 80-95%
being located in the top 10 cm. As such, fertilizers are worked in shallow into the
surfacesoil.Acomposit nutrient spray prepared and sprayed twice or thrice at 20-25 Days
interval commencing from the appearance of new flush will correct deficiencies and
increasesthe yield and quality of fruits. It is prepared as follows.
Zinc Sulphate 500 g,Copper Sulphate 280 g ,Magnesium Sulphate 200 g
Ferrous Sulphate 200 g,Borax 100 g,Manganese Sulphate(Amorphouse) 200 g
Lime 900 g,Urea 1000 g,Water 100 lit.
Training and pruning: In order to allow the growth of a strong trunk, all shoots in
thefirst 40-50 cm from ground level developed in the early stage should be removed.
Thecentre of the plant should remain open. Branches should be well distributed to
allsides. Cross twigs and water suckers are to be removed early. The bearing trees
require little or no pruning. All diseased, injured and drooping branches and dead
wood are to be removed periodically for initiating citrus greening.
Interculture: Before manuring, the basins are dug and the weeds are removed. The
tree basins should be kept free of weeds. Superficial cultivation of citrus orchards is
practiced to keep them free of weeds. Deep cultivation should be avoided.
Root stock sprouts water suckers and dead wood have to be periodically removed
andcut ends are pasted with Bordeaux paste. Occasionally the water suckers are to
beobserved and they should be removed,.
Intercrops: Leguminous crops like soybean, gram, groundnut, cow peas, french
bean, peas etc., may be grown in citrus orchards. Intercropping is advisable during
theinitial three-four years after planting.
Bahar Treatment: If left to nature the trees may bloom and fruit irregularly through-
outthe year. In order to overcome this problem and to force a full crop in any of the
threeseasons, as required by the grower and the traders, Bahar treatment is practiced
incitrus orchards.The citrus trees generally bloom three times ayear, i.e., in January-
February (Ambebahar ), June (Mrigbahar or)and October (Hasthabahar or). Trees are
treated for Ambebahar(January-February), in November or December. In this method,
from Novemberonwards the amount of water is gradually reduced in successive
irrigations andcompletely stopped in December. About the middle of December, the land
isploughed. When the trees start showing wilting symptoms (3-4 weeks), the soil
aroundthe tree to a distance of 120 cm is dug a depth of 10 cm and the
recommendedmanure is added to the soil and the trees are irrigated. The first irrigation
that followsis sparing while the subsequent ones are more plentiful. Flowers appear
about amonth after the first irrigation. In Maharashatra, the roots are also exposed for
about10 days as part of the bahar treatment. This treatment is considered to be harmful
in the longrun and not encouraged as a routine practice.
Cropping: Budded sweet orange trees give a commercial crop in about 5 years.
Mandarins may take one or two years more. Seedling trees take about 8 years to
come to bearing. The life of budded tree is about 35 years and of seedling about 60
years.The fruit ripens in about 9 months after flowering. The harvesting season varies
indifferent parts of the country. Sweet orange have three seasons of flowering
andfruiting. The seasons of harvest are:
Ambebahar season from September to February which yields about 80% of total
annual yield. Hasthbahar starts from July to September.Mrig season starts from March
toMay.Crop is very negligible during this season.
Fruit Drop: Fruit drop in citrus occurs more or less in three distinct stages viz., post
setting drop, pea size drop and pre-harvest drop. Among which the last one is most
important and causes huge loss to the farmers. Based on the causal factors, the fruit
drop can be classified broadly as i) Physiological drop ii) Entomological drop and iii)
Pathological drop.
i) Physiological drop-Although the initial fruit drop period in citrus is primarily from
physiological reasons, the term is strongly associated to October fruit drop and
describes the abscission of fruitlets as they approach 0.5-2.0 cm in diameter. This is
mainly due to competition among fruits for carbohydrates, water, hormone and other
metabolites. The problem is highly aggravated by water stress and humidity.
ii) Entomological fruit drop--Citrus bud mite and orange bug are some important
pests which causes heavy drop of flowers and fruits in oranges. Besides fruit fly
(Daucus dorsalis) and fruit sucking moth (Otheris fullonica) are mainly causing fruit
drop in the later crucial stage of fruit ripening. Pre-harvest fruit drop is mainly caused
by fruit fly infestation. Its activity is first noticed during last week of October which
continues till the final harvest.
iii) Pathological fruit drop--Fruit drop also occurs due to pathogenic fungi viz.
Botryodiplodia theobromae, Colletotrichum gleosporoides and Alternaria citri (stem
end rot) which mainly occurs predominantly on the mature fruits near ripening. High
inoculum of these fungi in the orchards builds up due to dead twigs on the bearing
trees. Water spot also causes fruit drop in which the rind absorbs large amounts of
water in localized areas during period of prolonged rains or dampness.
Control of fruit drop—
Maintain balance nutrients in the plants to develop sufficient foliage to support
the developing fruits.Prune the plants after harvesting to minimize pest and disease
incidence.Proper drainage should be made to avoid water stagnation.
Irrigation should be applied at critical stages viz., flowering, fruit set and fruit
development.Dropped fruits should not be left in the filed as they acts as carrier for
thediseasesSpray GA3 10 ppm + urea 1% at the time of floweringSpray 2, 4-D 15 ppm
+ Benomyl / carbendazim 1000 ppm + urea 1% onemonth after fruit set when the fruit
size reaches pea size (8-10 mm).Spray GA3 10 ppm + potassium nitrate 1% two month
after fruit set (18-20 mmfruit size).
Harvesting: Generally, citrus trees start bearing fruits 3 - 5 years from planting
(although economic yields start from the fifth year and the trees may take 8 to 10
years to achieve full productivity) and can be harvested 5 - 6 months from flowering
depending on the variety and the environment.

Maturity Indices:
Unlike some other fruits, citrus fruits do not ripen further once they have been
removed from the tree, so it is important that they are picked at the right stage of
maturity. Maturity is measured depending on different characteristics such as color,
juice content, level of soluble solid (sugar) and solids to acid ratio. Normally, citrus
fruits are harvested by hand. Fruit is best harvested after 8:00 in the morning, when
dew has dried up, since otherwise, if the fruit was still wet, it would become dark and
get spoiled. In addition, as citrus fruits are cold-sensitive (the plant dies at 3-5º C
below 0ºC), growers must have special care to protect the trees against cold.
Lemonsand limes are the citrus fruits the most sensitive to cold weather.
The general way to pick the fruit is by pulling it from the stem, using gloves in order
toavoid damaging the fruit. Once harvested, the fruit has to be graded, sorted,
washedand waxed, before being packed for delivery to the fresh market.
Yield:
Sweet Orange 600-800 fruits/tree with a maximum of 1200
Mandarins 1000-1500 fruits/tree with a maximum of 5000
Acid Lime 3000-6000 fruits/tree
Lemons 600-800 fruits/tree
Pummelo 100 fruits
Grape fruit 500 fruits