48 EEPORT OF SEAECH FOB ENEMIES OF CITRUS WHITE FLY. 



This so-called Nagpur orange can be grown in other sections with 

 equal success and is the orange largely produced about Poona in the 

 Bombay P^esidenc3^ In fact, the writer was informed on good 

 authority that the so-called Nagpur orange purchased in the Bombay 

 markets does not come from the Nagpur region, but rather from 

 Poona. 



At Gujranwala, in the Punjab, the Malta orange is the principal 

 kind produced. The trees are budded and in general are in a well- 

 kept and healthy condition. 



The normal time for gathering the fruit is November and December. 

 In the more southern and warmer parts of the country the fruit is 

 ready for market in November, but in the Punjab, as well as the outer 

 Himalayan tracts, it is not picked until December. About Nagpur 

 and Poona in the central Provinces two crops of fruit are gathered — 

 one in November, the other in April. The first crop comes at the 

 normal period of fruiting, while the second is produced artificially by 

 the well-known method of removing the dirt from a part of the root 

 system, the result of which is such a shock to the tree than an extra 

 period of blossoming is brought about. The roots are exposed during 

 the dry season in late spring. Irrigation is not practiced throughout 

 this period, which is of about a month's duration. After exposure of 

 the roots for about one month they are heavily irrigated, and in a 

 short time after this treatment the blossoms are said to appear. The 

 maturity of this crop in April, which is an off-season period for 

 oranges, results in the fruit commandmg a high price. 



In the plains the fruit is carried loose in ox carts to the market place 

 or bazaar, while in the mountainous districts it is first carried in 

 baskets by native bearers (PI. XII, fig. 1) to the nearest bazaar (PI. 

 XII, fig. 2) , from which it is shipped to the railroad either by coun- 

 try boat or ox cart. The price paid for fruit is variable. One grower 

 at Nagpur stated that he received 1^ to 3 rupees (50 cents to $1) per 

 hundred for fruit at his orchard, while in one of the obscure bazaars 

 in the outer Himalayas, upon which the writer happened, the natives 

 brought oranges in baskets on their backs from points many miles 

 distant to sell at the rate of about 600 for 1 rupee (32 cents). 



Citrus trees hi India are never pruned. Fertilization is practically 

 unknown except for a few instances in which a little manure is added. 

 The best orange groves are plowed frequently in order to keep down 

 the weeds. Irrigation is almost universally practiced m those places 

 where much fruit is produced. Many horticulturists irrigate every 

 week or 10 days during the warm, dry season. The common system 

 in practice is by means of a single furrow along the base of each row 

 of trees, so that the trees rise directly out of the furrow. Hence the 

 bases of the trees are always standing in water while the irrigation is 

 taking place. 



