Optimize Fresh Fruit Results with Selective Pruning

Abstract

Planting fresh citrus varieties has increased in popularity. With these potentially high-value crops come questions about management practices, including pruning. This article discusses pruning practices that can improve the health and productivity of citrus trees.

The principles of pruning are the same for any citrus plant. However, quality affects value of fresh fruit even more than it does fruit for processing, because fresh fruit are considered individually, while processing fruit are evaluated by the load. Additionally, the high value of each fruit means a higher incentive to improve productivity of each grove. Pruning is an important tool for fresh fruit because it can bring both higher productivity and higher quality.