Citrus Nurseries and Planting Techniques

Abstract 9

Preface 11

Introduction

A brief historical overwiew on citrus nurseries 13

The origin of citrus propagation techniques 13

Recent development of nursery practices 17

Citrus: a fruit production heavily dependent on the supply of quality plants 21

Citrus, one of the three major world fruit productions 21

The market demand for citrus plants 22

Guidelines for a quality citrus propagation chain 24

The various steps for a reliable propagation chain 26

Certification validates the quality of the planting material delivered 28 by registered nurseries

Control of the rootstock production 35

Conventional seed propagation systems 35

Management of citrus seed source trees 36

Extracting and conditioning citrus seeds 37

Management and maintenance of seed gardens 39

Rootstock screening criteria 40

Specification of conventional rootstock cultivars 46

Rootstock trials 53

Creation of new rootstocks 53

Alternatives to the propagation of rootstocks by seed 55

Management and mass production of superior disease-free budwood 63

Introduction 63

Sanitation procedures of budwood source trees 66

Institutions delivering certified disease-free budwoods 70

Management of budwood source-trees 72

Mass propagation of certified budwood in multiplication blocks 74

Basic regulations to produce budwood on a commercial scale 79

The outdoor field-grown citrus nursery 87

Possible benefits and drawbacks of outdor fièlthgr.?wn citrus nurseries 87

Production of budded trees in a field-grown system.....- __ . _ 88

Soil preparation for seed planting and seedling transplanting 92

Seed planting 94

Budding or grafting 104

The container-grown nursery 113

The outdoor container-growing system 113

Sheltered container-grown nurseries 117

Adequate watering 128

Fertilization 128

Orchard management and planting techniques 135

Selecting the site and preparing the soil 135

Soil preparation and land layout 136

Planting the orchard 142

Orchard maintenance after plantation 146

Plant protection of young orchards and phytosanitary sprays 155

Topworking 158

Ornamental citrus 167

The techniques for growing citrus in orangeries 167

The market of citrus potted mini-trees 173

Future perspective for ornamental citrus 178

Index 179

Acronyms 181

Nurseries and professional organizations presented in the illustrations 182

Credit photos 183