Growing Citrus and Peaches: Similarities and Differences

1
Growing Citrus and Peaches Similarities and
Differences

• Jim Ferguson
• Horticultural Sciences Department
• University of Florida, Gainesville

2
Growth Habit

• Citrus
• Evergreen
• Subtropical Origin
• Dormancy
• Temperature Sensitivity
• Flower Induction
• Bloom

• Peaches
• Deciduous
• Temperate Origin
• Subtropical Peaches
• Low Chill
• cumulative
• Early Maturing
• Long Vegetative Period
• Defoliation Prior to Chilling
• Zinc Sulfate
• Premature Defoliation
• Bloom

3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
7
Peach Chill Units and FDP
8
Crop Development

• Citrus
• Cool Winter
• Seasonal Temperatures
• Moisture
• Early, Mid, Late Cultivars

• Peaches
• Chilling Hours
• January Temperatures
• Fruit Development Period
• Seasonal temperatures

9
Soil Types

• Citrus
• Drainage
• Rooting Depth
• Ridge
• Flatwoods
• pH
• 6-7
• Toxicity
• Ca
• Cu

• Peaches
• Drainage
• Rooting Depth
• 4-6 ft
• pH
• 6.0-6.5
• Toxicity
• Ca
• Breakdown Rate of Residual Herbicides
• Grove History
• Rotation Interval
• Bioassay

10
Grove/Orchard Design

• Citrus
• Spacings
• 117-125 t/acre
• Tree Life Span
• Reset Program

• Peaches
• Spacings
• 10 x 20 (218t/a)
• 15 x 20 (145 t/a)
• 20 x 20 (108 t/a)
• Pruning
• Tree Life Span
• 8-10 Years
• New Cultivars
• No resets

11
Nurseries

• Citrus
• Budwood Registration Program
• Registered Trees on Certified Sites

• Peaches
• Nursery/Orchard Source
• DPI Field Nursery Inspection
• Root Knot Nematode?

12
Nursery Stock

• Citrus
• Bare Root
• Containerized

• Peaches
• Bare Root
• Containerized ?
• 2-4 ft height
• Caliper

13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
Rootstocks

• Citrus
• Nucellar Embryony
• Uniformity
• Extraction/Storage
• Grafted Seed Source Trees

• Peaches
• Flordaguard
• Nemaguard
• Open Pollinated
• Less uniform
• Alkaline Soils Iron Chlorosis
• Grafted Seed Source Trees
• Crack Pit and Seed Extraction
• Seed Stratification

16
Tolerance of Peach Rootstocks to Stress
17
Planting

• Citrus
• Year Round
• Bare Root ? Containerized after 3-4 years
• Microsprinklers

• Peaches
• Dormant Planting
• Bare Root
• Containerized ?
• Microsprinklers

18
Weed Management

• Citrus
• Citrus Spray Guide

• Peaches
• Southeast Peach, Nectarine and Plum Pest
  Management and Culture Guide
• Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,
  Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee,
  Texas
• 3-4 ft Herbicide Strip within Row Year 1
• 5 ft Strip After
• Sod middles

19
Nitrogen Fertilization Rate

• Citrus
• Year 1
• 0.15 0.30 lb N/tree
• Year 2
• 0.30 0.60 lb N/tree
• Year 3
• 0.450.90 lb N/tree
• Year 3
• Oranges
• 120-120 lbs N/a

• Peaches
• Year 1
• 0.1 lb N/tree
• Year 2
• 0.4 lb N/tree
• Year 3
• _at_100 lb N/a

20
Fertilization Formulation

• Citrus
• More Variable

• Peaches
• Panhandle
• 8-8-8
• Peninsula Florida
• 12-4-8
• Zinc Oxide
• 1-2 Young Trees
• 2 lbs Zn/100 gallons
• 1-2 sprays/year
• Boron
• 5 lbs B203/a
• Manganese
• 0.75 lbs/100 gallons/acre

21
Fertilizer Timing

• Citrus
• ½
• January - June
• ½
• Fall-Winter
• Dry
• 3X
• Fertigation
• 10X

• Peaches
• Year 1
• Feb
• May
• July
• Year 2
• Jan
• May
• Year 3
• Jan
• May
• August?

22
Irrigation

• Citrus
• Ridge
• Soil Water Depletion
• 25-50
• Flatwoods
• 25-50
• Microsprinklers

• Peaches
• 4 inches/month
• 1-2 inches every 10 days
• Microsprinkler
• Overhead
• Freeze Protection

23
Freeze Damage

• Citrus
• Buds
• Blossoms
• Young Fruit
• Mature Fruit
• 28F
• 4 hours
• Twigs
• Branches

• Peaches
• Buds
• 20F
• Blossoms
• 26F
• Young Fruit
• 28F

24
Pruning

• Citrus
• Mechanical
• Hedging
• Topping

• Peaches
• Planting
• Tree Training
• Open Center
• V
• High Density
• Annual Winter/Summer?
• 18-23 hours/acre
• Manual Labor

25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
Fruit Thinning

• Citrus
• Alternate Bearing
• Self Thinning

• Peaches
• One Fruit Every 6 Inches Before Pit Hardening
• Labor Costs

28
Harvesting

• Citrus
• Seasonal
• Brix/Acid ratios

• Peaches
• Change in Ground Color
• Harvest at 2-day Intervals 3-4 Times
• Field Packing
• Tree Ripe Fruit

29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32
DISEASES

• Citrus
• Foliar
• Greasy Spot
• Canker
• Fruit
• Brown Rot
• Tree
• Systemic Diseases
• Roots
• Armellaria Root Rot
• Phytophthora
• Nematodes

• Peaches
• Foliar
• Bacterial Spot
• Rust
• Fruit
• Scab
• Bacterial Spot
• Brown Rot
• Tree
• Phony Peach
• Bacterium
• Botyrosphaeria Rot
• Gumming
• Roots
• Amellaria Root Rot
• Nematodes

33
(No Transcript)
34
(No Transcript)
35
INSECTS AND RELATED PESTS

• Citrus
• Foliar
• Grasshoppers
• Leaf Miners
• Orange Dogs
• Mites
• Scales
• Fruit
• Stink Bugs
• Mites
• Scales
• Tree
• Scales
• Fire Ants
• Roots
• Root Weevils
• Nematodes

• Peaches
• Foliar
• Fruit
• Plum Curculio
• Catfacing Insects
• Carib Fly
• Tree
• San Jose Scale
• White Peach Scale
• Tree Borers
• Sharpshooter Vectors
• Roots
• Blue-green root weevil
• Varmits
• Deer
• Others

36
(No Transcript)