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21 May 2025
Citrus pruning
By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , , , ,

Citrus Pruning in the Mediterranean Climate: A Review

Pruning is a common cultural practice in citrus and one of the most expensive orchard maintenance operations. Even so, technical information on citrus pruning is relatively scarce, especially in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In the Scopus database, there are only 70 articles on citrus pruning [Search by: TITLE-ABS-KEY “citrus” OR “mandarin” OR “poncirus” AND TITLE “pruning”]. In this database, a yearly average of only four papers were published in the last ten years; none of these was a review. Therefore, a review of the cutting methods and the needs of the main citrus species and cultivars and a critical analysis of pruning are needed to put together and summarize the current knowledge on and technical aspects of citrus pruning.

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21 May 2025
California Citrus
By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , ,

Import tariffs expected to have limited impact on citrus shipments from the southern hemisphere

California’s mandarin supply is gradually winding down and harvest will likely wrap up in the last week of May or the first week of June. “This is in line with what we expected or perhaps a bit earlier,” says Miles Fraser-Jones with Sierra Produce. There is already less fruit available in the market as some California grower-shippers are holding back fruit in order to be able to continue supplying their retail programs into June. “As a result, we are noticing an improvement on the market conditions, which is positive for southern hemisphere citrus,” Fraser-Jones said.

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17 Apr 2025
By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , , ,

The role of insect pollinators in avocado production: A global review

Insect pollination increases the yield and quality of many crops and therefore, understanding the role of insect pollinators in crop production is necessary to sustainably increase yields. Avocado Persea americana benefits from insect pollination, however, a better understanding of the role of pollinators and their contribution to the production of this globally important crop is needed. In this study, we carried out a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of studies investigating the pollination ecology of avocado to answer the following questions: (a) Are there any research gaps in terms of geographic location or scientific focus? (b) What is the effect of insect pollinators on avocado pollination and production? (c) Which pollinators are the most abundant and effective and how does this vary across location? (d) How can insect pollination be improved for higher yields? (e) What are the current evidence gaps and what should be the focus of future research? Research from many regions of the globe has been published, however, results showed that there is limited information from key avocado producing countries such as Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

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17 Apr 2025
By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , ,

Water Use Efficiency in a Deficit-Irrigated Orange Orchard

Citrus is a subtropical fruit tree with high water requirements. This study aimed to determine the effects of water deficit on an orange orchard subjected to different water-saving strategies. The study was realised in an orange orchard in a semiarid area by adopting four different water management techniques: 100% crop evapotranspiration (control); SSDI—subsurface sustained deficit irrigation; RDI—regulated deficit irrigation; PRD—partial rootzone drying treatment during five growing seasons. The experimental design foresaw a randomised block design with six replicates per treatment (24 index plants). The results of the study showed that the water-saving strategies reduced irrigation water consumption by 25% (SSDI), 33% (RDI), and 49% (PRD) compared to the fully irrigated treatment without yield reduction, thus increasing water use efficiency.

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17 Apr 2025
By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , , , , , ,

Postharvest Disinfestation Treatments for False Codling Moth and Fruit Flies in Citrus from South Africa

South Africa is the 13th largest producer and second largest exporter of citrus fruit globally. The false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta, and the fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata, C. rosa and Bactrocera dorsalis, can potentially infest citrus fruit and therefore pose a phytosanitary risk for export markets. Consequently, a wide range of postharvest phytosanitary treatments for disinfestation of citrus fruit from these pests have been investigated. These include cold treatments, irradiation, fumigation, heat treatments, and combinations of some of these.

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25 Mar 2025
By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , , ,

Role of plant growth promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) as a plant growth enhancer for sustainable agriculture: A Review

The rhizosphere of a plant is home to helpful microorganisms called plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which play a crucial role in promoting plant growth and development. The significance of PGPR for long-term agricultural viability is outlined in this review. Plant growth processes such as nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and hormone secretion are discussed. Increased plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, reduced use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and enhanced nutrient availability, soil fertility, and absorption are all mentioned as potential benefits of PGPR. PGPR has multiple ecological and practical functions in the soil’s rhizosphere.

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25 Mar 2025
Mandarin
By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , ,

Canopy position affects pigment expression and accumulation of flavedo carbohydrates of ‘Nules Clementine’ Mandarin Fruit, thereby affecting rind condition

Because photosynthesis provides the required carbohydrates for fruit development and respiration releases the stored energy from these carbon compounds, interalia during postharvest storage, it is therefore important that fruit tissues have an adequate carbohydrate concentration at the start of the postharvest period to ensure optimal storage life. In addition to photosynthate supply from leaves, the chlorophyll-containing flavedo of citrus (Citrus sp.) fruit (outer, colored part of the rind) has the ability to fix CO2 through its own photosynthetic system. In this experiment, spanning three seasons, the three main sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) were quantified in the flavedo of ‘Nules Clementine’ mandarin (Citrus reticulata) fruit during Stages II and III of fruit development. Flavedo was sampled from fruit borne on the inside (low light intensity) or outside (high light intensity) of the tree’s canopy. In one season, the photosynthetic and respiration rates of fruit borne in the two canopy positions were measured pre- and post-color break (March and April, respectively).

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28 Feb 2025
By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , ,

Fruit Thinning Improves Fruit Size, Yield and Return Flowering in ‘Washington Navel’ Orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck)

“Washington Navel” orange is the principal mid-season maturing cultivar grown in south-eastern Australia. The cultivar has strong export potential and earns high returns for citrus growers. However, trees bear a large number of small-sized fruit in an on-year followed by a small number of largesized fruit the next year if crop load is not properly managed. Thinning can be used as a crop management strategy to adjust crop load. A thinning experiment was conducted, and crop loads were adjusted on a whole tree basis to 2, 4, 6 or 8 fruit/0.125 m3 canopy volume (CV), removing 46%, 30%, 20% and 8% of the crop respectively, and compared to non-thinned control trees. Fruit diameter was measured at regular intervals from February to July.

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