When is the best time to prune navel orange trees?

Navel orange tree pruning

Navel orange tree pruning is a very important step and the most effective way to increase yield and improve fruit quality. It can also encourage the tree to form a high-yielding tree shape, allow the tree to be ventilated and light-permeable, reduce the occurrence of diseases and pests, and improve the quality of the fruit.

Navel orange tree pruning time

Navel orange trees grow faster in spring and autumn, so pruning can be done in spring and autumn, and the appropriate time period is also required. Generally, pruning is done after rainy days in spring or autumn. Navel orange trees need to be pruned three times a year, and the pruning period varies in different planting areas.

How to prune a navel orange tree

1. Pruning young trees

The branches and shoots of navel orange grow well and do not need to be pruned during the seedling stage. Just remove the buds and control the shoots. Do not apply fertilizers indiscriminately during cultivation. Concentrate on applying quick-acting nitrogen fertilizers in the first half month before the shoots sprout. Spray fertilizers on the roots before the leaves turn green to promote greening. Fertilization should be controlled at other times.

2. Fruit tree pruning

Cultivate three-dimensional fruiting: According to the growth characteristics of navel orange tree branches, leave the lower and inner branches. At this time, pruning should be light. If the fruiting branches are strong after picking the fruit, and good growth branches and fruiting branches can still grow from the base of the fruit stalks in the spring of the following year, then they can be retained. If the fruiting branches are slender and weak, they can be cut off from the base.

Branch renewal: Navel orange trees can be pruned back in the summer to reduce nutrient loss, resolve the conflict between fruit shoots and fertilizer, and promote the growth of new shoots. In Pingyuan County, Guangdong Province, summer pruning is generally carried out after the fruit matures and before the fruiting mother branches sprout, and winter pruning is carried out after the fruit is harvested and before the spring buds, combined with garden cleaning and pruning of diseased and insect-infested branches.

3. Pruning of aging trees

For trees that are severely aged or shaded, the main branches can be renewed, generally by sawing them off about 50 cm from the base of the main branches. Some aged branches can still bear fruit, and they can be heavily pruned in turn every 2-3 years, and the dense and weak side branches can be thinned out to retain the stronger branches.

Notes on pruning navel orange trees

The pruning of navel orange trees should be done according to their growth conditions, and diseased and dead leaves should be removed in time to ensure good growth. Bud removal of navel oranges should generally be done in summer and autumn when the shoots grow to about two centimeters, and some unnecessary young buds that have no use value should be removed to avoid competing with the fruit for nutrients.