Botanical Name – Citrus reticulata

Family – Rutaceae

Origin – China

Ch No – 2n=18

• Mandarin is grown in 50% area under citrus species
• Citrus seeds do not have dormancy, so they should be sown immediately after extraction.
• Flowering three times a year

1. 1. February flower —— Ambe Bahar
   2. June Fool —————Mrig Bahar
   3. October flower ——Hasth Bahar

• Mandarin/Orange are susceptible to waterlogging
• Rootstock for HDP – Troyer citrange (1.8×1.8m2)
• Best time to prune – late winter or early spring
• Highly polyembryonic – Mandarin, Sweet orange, Lemon, Grapefruit.
• Monoembryonic – Pummelo, Tahiti lime, Citron.
• Rangpur lime is the best rootstock for mandarin and sweet orange.
• Rootstock – Adajamir ( assamensis) is resistant to greening.
• Citrus fruits have a special type of peel called leathery rind.
• Citrus is a plant that loves micronutrients
• Trifoliate orange is resistant to phytophthora and nematode.
• Alemow (Citrus macrophylla) is the dwarf rootstock for old-line Temple mandarin (Citrus temple).
• Limolin – The glycoside responsible for the bitter taste in citrus juices.
• In orange aroma is due to Valencene.
• In the United States in 1935 H.B. Frost developed the mandarin variety Kinnow.
• Kinnow was introduced in India in 1959
• Nagpur Mandarin was introduced in India in 1894 by Shuji Raja Bhonsle
• The irrigation requirement of mandarin is higher than other citrus species
• Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of citrus fruits in India followed by Maharashtra.
• Sikkim is the only place where Mandarin is packed in wooden boxes

Varieties: –

• Coorg- the most important commercial variety of South India
• Khasi – Locally know as Sikkim or kamla mandarin
• Nagpur (Ponkan) – Finest Mandarin in the world. Grown in satpuda hills of MH.
• Satsuma (seedless) – Commercial Mandarin of Japan
• Emperor and Fuetrelles – Introduced from Australia.
• Sutwal – Introduced from Nepal
• Laddu

Hybrid: –

Kinow- King (Citrus nobilis) x willow leaf (Citrus diliciosa)

First time raised on Jatti Khatti (Citrus jambhiri) rootstock in 1959 at the PAU regional Research Station Abohar

Climate –

• Mandarins require subtropical and tropical climates
• It is grown at an altitude of 600 to 1100 meters above sea level.
• Annual rainfall 75 – 250 cm

Soil

• Should be medium to light loam, deep, well-drained, and free from excess salt rich in organic matter.
• Soil pH – 5.5 to 8.0

Propagation

• Mandarin is largely propagated by seeds. However, propagation of Nagpur orange and Kinnow is mainly done by budding.

Rootstock

• Jambhiri is widely used for Nagpur oranges in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
• Karna Khatta rootstock is used in Punjab and U.P.

Manure and fertilizers

• N:P:K – 290 : 200 : 240 gm/tree
• FYM – 100 kg/tree
• The total quantity of P₂O₅ and K₂O and half quantity of N is applied during February -March and the remaining quantity of N during September-October.

Irrigation

• At an interval of 8-10 days in summer and at an interval of 20-25 days in winter

Interculture and Intercropping

• Weeding is done twice or thrice a year.
• Moong, Urad, Pea, Cabbage, Potato, etc. are suitable intercrops.

Flowering and fruiting

• Plants start flowering and fruiting after 4-5 years of planting.
• Kinnow trees show an irregular fruiting tendency. That is, a year of heavy fruiting is followed by a year of poor fruiting, smaller fruits of poor quality.
• Application of NAA 350 ppm at 30 days after full bloom induces a fair amount of fruit thinning.

Harvesting

• Being non-climacteric, mandarin fruits fail to ripen after harvest and are harvested only when they are fully ripe, have an attractive orange colour, and have an acceptable sugar-acid ratio
• Kinnow is harvested from late January to mid-February.

Yield

• Mandarin gives 500-800 fruits after about 9-10 years.
• Kinnow trees start bearing fruit after the fourth year of planting and the average yield is 70.3 kg/tree (28.12 t/ha). Commercial yield starts from the 7th year and yields up to 85 kg/tree is obtained.