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.
Citrus fruits are cultivated worldwide, but the technologies that can be used depend on the edaphoclimatic conditions and production objectives. The Mediterranean basin is a subtropical area where citrus have adapted and have significant economic and cultural importance. Moreover, citrus are now an essential part of the Mediterranean landscape and diet [1,2]. This review will address general aspects of citrus pruning. It will focus, in more detail, on the practices used in Mediterranean countries, according to the authors’ experiences after several years of work on pruning trial.
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Article & Image Source:
Pedro Matias, Isabel Barrote, Gonçalo Azinheira, Alberto Continella and Amílcar Duarte
