Citrus Drought Strategies

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Citrus Drought Strategies

description

Citrus Drought Strategies. Citrus growth stages Flower bud induction and initiation mid Nov - Feb Flowering mid February – May Stage 1 Fruit Growth (cell division) May - June Stage 2 Fruit Growth (cell expansion) July - Aug Fruit maturity June onwards. Flower Bud initiation. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of Citrus Drought Strategies

Page 1: Citrus Drought Strategies

Citrus Drought Strategies

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Citrus growth stages • Flower bud induction and initiation mid Nov - Feb• Flowering mid February – May • Stage 1 Fruit Growth (cell division) May - June• Stage 2 Fruit Growth (cell expansion) July - Aug• Fruit maturity June onwards

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Flower Bud initiation

Moderate stress can increase flowering

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Flowering and Fruit Set – spring Water stress can cause fruit drop and suppress spring flush Remaining fruit will size better

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Fruit Growth (cell expansion) July – Oct Minor water stress can occur without significant effect on fruit size

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Fruit Maturity Nov onwards

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The first step to improving water use is to check the irrigation system Is the distribution uniformity is as high as possible? Is deep drainage controlled? Fix leaks Clean filters

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Place emitters under the canopy to reduce evaporative loss

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Mulch !!

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Weed!!!!

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Prune !!

A 30% reduction in tree size reduces water use by 30%

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Reduce nitrogen applications

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Deficit Irrigation best applied in summer with least effect on fruit size and yield

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Tree removal – sick trees, poor performing areas

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