Have science on your side to grow organically wonderful citrus fruits

What is loosely called organic gardening has different beliefs, definitions, and protocols, and 90% of what I do is widely accepted as organic, but the organic recommendations I provide here are science. It is 100% based on the evidence proved by.

I’m not the only one who has this view. Jeff Gilman, a well-known scientist in the United States, a professor of gardening and an organic farmer, may use safe chemical pesticides in the absence of effective organic pesticides. He also points out that some organic therapies are more toxic than chemical pesticides.

In his view, I don’t recommend Organic practice It is based on a false story that has not been proven by science.

While gardeners believe that these unproven practices work and have time, as a world leader on this subject, Anthony Warner states: Science is not on your side, so others as a way to save the planet. “

read more:
* Organic pests and disease control for your favorite fruits
* Hedges made of fruit trees-and how to grow them
* 5 common citrus tree problems

I strongly support composting all swill on-site or by commercial or parliamentary composting. In addition to recycling and reuse, this reduces other problems.

Using sheep and chicken manure as fertilizer in the garden solves the farmer’s problem and provides the gardener with fertilizer.

Unfortunately, for many flowering and fruiting plants, animal manure needs to be supplemented with extra potassium. This is especially true for citrus fruits.

Here is the first problem. Potassium is supplied as potassium sulphate. Potassium sulphate is broken down in the soil into the form of potassium oxide (K2O) used by plants.

In addition to the potassium sulphate produced, there are naturally occurring deposits primarily in Canada. These deposits are organically certified based on what was naturally formed rather than manufactured-the same potassium sulphate.

Soil suitable for citrus fruits

Warm to temperate climate and well-drained soil-like citrus fruits. This means that it thrives in the warm northern regions of New Zealand, especially in sandy loam and volcanic soils where there is no heavy frost.

Unfortunately, 78% of New Zealand’s soil is defined as clay. As most gardeners know, Clay soil Not good for garden plants. The particles are fine and tightly packed, which makes it difficult to get nutrients and water, resulting in poor drainage.

Citrus fruits withstand clay soil with a little help. Add at least 20 cm of compost and mix on top of the clay. Plant in this raised mound to prevent the roots from being buried in the clay sinkhole.

Feed the citrus trees

Citrus is a gross feeder that requires higher levels of nutrition than most plants to thrive. Modern synthetic fertilizers are tuned to suit citrus fruits and give excellent results.

As shown above, organic gardeners can use potassium sulphate supplements from organic sources as needed, in addition to sheep and chicken manure, in addition to the combination of mulching and compost.

Alternatively, there is a mixture of organic fertilizers based on organic fertilizers, which contains the organic source potassium. This should be applied to the tree drip lines in September and March.

The right way to water citrus fruits

Most citrus cultivars bear fruit from mid to late spring. Water from summer to autumn to ensure fruit growth.

Avoid sprinklers as they set the optimal condition for the disease. Drippers or soak hoses are recommended.

pest

Many gardens have citrus trees that are relatively free of pests and diseases. This is probably due to microclimate and growth in areas where there are few, if any, alternative host plants for pests that attack citrus.

The main pests include all sucking insects such as aphids, thrips, whiteflies, whiteflies, scales and mites. Thrips, scale insects, scales and mites are often overlooked in casual observations. You need to look closely at the underside of the leaves and the structure of the tree trunk.

• A small 10x hand lens is useful. The first indicator of the presence of sucking insects is the black mold of soot. This non-pathogenic fungus grows on honeydew excreted by these sucking insects.
• Another indicator is the presence of ants in the tree. They are for honeydew, but go one step further and “culture” insects and spread them throughout the tree to increase honeydew production.

Often there are three or four of the above insects that are present at the same time. Any of these can increase in number until the tree is severely affected, reducing fruit yield and juiciness.

There are few preventative tools for sucking pests in this group. Beneficial insects contribute, but not enough to control them. However, make every effort to maximize its presence and use only beneficial insect pesticides.

A preventive tool that I have found to be more effective (but not completely effective) is to eliminate alternative host plants. For example, by eliminating host weeds and cucurbitaceae, we reduced the number of whiteflies in the tomato and cucurbitaceae families.

Eliminating alternative hosts is less practical for citrus than other plants, as there are many alternative host plants for insects that attack citrus, but growing citrus away from shrubs can help.

If this is not an option, alternative host plants can be treated with pesticides to minimize the source of infection.

Fortunately, there are some organic pesticides that adequately control these flukes and have less effect on beneficial insects, primarily due to their mechanism of action.

Mineral oil

Mineral oil (paraffin) is a good starting point. Citrus has moderately tough leaves and is resistant to all brands of mineral oil. My favorite is Grosafe Enspray 99, a pharmaceutical grade paraffin oil with a purity of 99.8%. This means that there is less risk of leaf burning and better insecticidal performance. Paraffin oil kills all stages of sucking insects (eggs, nymphs, adults) by choking. In addition, it has the properties of inhibiting feeding and preventing spawning, and has a non-toxic residual effect for about a week. Proper control depends on the total coverage, including the surface and stem of all leaves.

Neem

There are three neem products approved under the ACVM Act for edible use: Grosafe BioNeem. OCP eco-neem; and of course neem. Naturally toxic substances are removed from these three products with the same formulation (10 g / liter of azadirachtin, an insecticidal active ingredient), and 2 ml per liter of water is used.

Neem does not kill insects directly. Its mechanism of action is primarily feeding inhibitors (sucking insects do not eat treated leaves). Neem is also a confusion factor in development that reduces the number of adult insects. Neem granules applied to the soil are not a substitute. They are not absorbed by the roots of the plant and do not translocate to the plant.

When used alone, neem is reasonably effective. When used in combination with Grosafe Enspray 99, the results are better than when using either product alone. I use 8 ml of Enspray 99 + 2 ml of Bio-Neem per liter of water. If you have a large number of insects on the tree, you will need to spray them twice every two weeks to clean them. As a maintenance treatment, I use the Enspray 99-Bio Neem mix four times a year at regular intervals. This maintenance process minimizes the problem or causes no problems at all.

OCP eco oil

This is a vegetable oil that can be used in place of Enspray 99.

The only organic pesticide approved for chewing citrus insects is pyrethrum. This is not recommended as it is toxic to beneficial insects and most of the available formulations contain the suspicious chemical synergist piperonyl butoxide. Yates Success Ultra, a biological extract, is much safer.

Citrus disease

Alternaria brown rot, melanose and warts are three fungal diseases that affect citrus fruits.

To minimize these, follow a pruning regimen for better ventilation and cut off branches hanging 60 cm above the ground. If these illnesses occur, you can manage them by adding Grosafe Free Flo Copper to your quarterly oil spray.

Pruning, pollination, thinning

Citrus pruning is usually not required for the first 4-5 years, as citrus is naturally bush-shaped. However, make sure that the growth from underneath the graft is removed as this is a rootstock and does not produce the selected fruit.

For the first two years, remove flowers and small fruits from the tree to allow energy to grow instead of fruits. After that, once established and bears fruit, maintenance pruning is minimized. Pruning as needed to reduce size and thinning the leaves to ensure light penetration and ventilation.

If the tree grows too large, it can be pruned to a manageable size. One year of fruiting is lost as they rebuild the fruiting trees.

Pollination happens immediately. Some citrus fruits, especially tangerines, set more fruits that the tree can sustain. It is usually dropped naturally when the fruit is small.

The pesticides and fungicides I recommend in this article have a one-day withholding period and are BioGro certified organic except Naturally Neem.