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Tag: Mandarin

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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25 Jan 2024
Citrus Pruning in the Mediterranean
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , , , , ,

Citrus Pruning in the Mediterranean Climate: A Review

Pruning is a common practice in citrus for various reasons. These include controlling and shaping the canopy; improving phytosanitary health, productivity, and fruit quality; and facilitating operations such as harvesting and phytosanitary treatments. Because pruning is an expensive operation, its need is sometimes questioned.

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21 Apr 2023
Wind damaged citrus
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , , , ,

Windbreaks – Increased Focus Needed

South-easterly winds coincide with the first 12 weeks after mandarin petal drop. When these winds become more intense between October and December, they can cause up to 87% of the severe wind-scar damage seen in a season. However, says Heinrich Geldenhuys, such losses can be minimised with suitable windbreaks or other forms of wind protection, resulting in higher export volumes of quality fruit. Geldenhuys is a junior researcher who graduated in April 2022 with an MSc in Horticultural Science degree from Stellenbosch University (SU).

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25 Mar 2023
Lemon covered in water
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website Articles , , , , , , , ,

Mid-long term effects of saline reclaimed water and regulated deficit irrigation on fruit quality of citrus

Non-conventional water sources and water saving techniques can become a valuable implement in semiarid regions, although its long-term effects on the citrus quality are little known. This study evaluated the effects of irrigation with two sources: transfer water (TW) and reclaimed water (RW) combined with two irrigation strategies: full irrigation (FI) and regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) on fruit quality response of mandarins and grapefruits during eight growth seasons. RESULTS: The RW irrigation in mandarin, without water restriction, determined maturity index (MI, SSC·TA-1) lower than in the TW-FI, owing to titratable acidity (TA) increased to a greater degree than soluble solid contents (SSC). Nevertheless, juice quality standards were satisfied. Besides, regardless of the irrigation treatment (FI or RDI), an increasing trend fruit weight was also detected by RW.

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