2370 



ORANGE 



ORANGE 



pan. The better class of flat woods make good citrous 

 soils, but those supporting a heavy growth of saw 

 palmetto or with a hardpan subsoil are not considered 

 good, and though sometimes used are usually avoided. 

 In the handling of Florida soils, the most important 

 things to which attention should be given are drainage 

 and the maintenance of the humus-content of the soil. 

 The rainfall is heavy at times and provision must be 

 made for the rapid elimination of surplus moisture, 

 while the light character of the soil, high temperatures 

 and moist condition assist in the rapid disintegration 

 of the vegetable matter. A water table about 3 feet 

 below the surface is desirable. 



Stocks for citrous trees. 



Intimately associated with the character of the soil 

 is the kind of stock which should be used for the orchard. 

 The seedling sweet orange as a foundation for a young 

 orchard is a thing of the past and at this time only trees 

 budded on stocks of different kinds are used. 



The stocks more or less commonly used for orange 

 trees in Florida are sour orange (Citrus Aurantium), 

 rough lemon (form of Citrus Limonia), grapefruit (Cit- 

 rus grandis) and trifoliata (Poncirus trifoliata). Each 

 has its peculiar advantages for certain soils and clima- 

 tic conditions. 



No stock is more commonly used in the world's 

 citrous regions than the sour orange. Trees propagated 



on it are long- 

 lived, vigorous, 

 and produce 

 fruit of high 

 quality. The 

 stock itself is 

 resistant to mal- 

 di-gomma and 

 some other simi- 

 lar diseases 

 which affect 

 other stocks. 

 Wherever it can 

 be used, it should 

 be given prefer- 

 ence. It is a 

 congenial stock 

 for all impor- 

 tant varieties of 

 oranges, the Sat- 

 suma alone ex- 

 cepted. This 

 variety does not 

 grow well upon 

 it. The sour 

 orange tree itself 



2615. Satsuma orange. Citrus nobilis 

 var. unshiu. ( X J^) 



is more resistant to cold than the sweet oranges usu- 

 ally worked on it. It is adapted to low hammock, 

 high hammock, flat woods and to high pine land soils 

 where the latter are not too porous, open, and deficient 

 in moisture. If fruit is to be held on the trees later 

 than its season, or for late-maturing varieties, it has 

 no superior. 



Rough lemon stock produces more vigorous tree- 

 growth than sour orange stock. The root-system is 

 widespreading and rather shallow. It is much more 

 tender than the sour orange and trees budded on it 

 are not so cold-resistant. It is not desirable for early 

 varieties as the fruit is not well filled and juicy, and 

 fruit borne by trees budded on it cannot be held very 

 much beyond its season without parting with its juice. 

 It is adapted to conditions where a comparatively 

 shallow root-system is advantageous and to very light 

 sandy soils where a root-system of wide foraging range 

 is necessary. 



Grapefruit stock, used in a limited way, produces 

 high quality fruit and is adapted to soils containing 

 liberal amounts of moisture and with rather high water- 



tables. Where it can be used, it gives very satisfactory 

 results. If the soil is underlaid with clay, close to the 

 surface, so much the better. Grapefruit stock is entirely 

 unsuited to dry open porous soils. In point of hardiness 

 and resistance to cold, it ranks with rough lemon. 



Poncirus (Citrus) trifoliata, commonly referred to as 

 trifoliata stock, is the hardiest citrous stock now in 

 general use in America. The tree itself will stand 22 F. 

 at least and it imparts a certain measure of its own 

 hardiness to the orange that is worked on it. This, in 

 the main, is brought about by its very dormant char- 

 acter. In this combination is a noteworthy example of 

 an evergreen tree budded on a deciduous one. Trees 

 budded upon it do not start into growth so readily nor 

 so early in spring. The fruit produced on this stock 

 is smooth, thin-skinned, very juicy, and of high quality 

 even with the very first crops. Poncirus trifoliata stock 

 is adapted to clay soils, loamy or sandy soils with clay 

 close to the surface and to alluvial soils. It requires a 

 uniform and goodly supply of moisture. In Florida it 

 is used for plantings of Satsuma and other oranges in 

 the northern and western parts of the state. 



Propagation and the seed-bed. 



The seed-bed in which citrous seedlings are grown is 

 carefully prepared in advance by liming and by apply- 

 ing commercial fertilizers. The soil is well and deeply 

 broken, pulverized and raked free of all roots and trash. 

 Irrigation is usually provided, though not always neces- 

 sary and may be dispensed with on moister soils. 



Seeds of sour orange, rough lemon, grapefruit and 

 trifoliata are extracted by cutting through the rind of 

 the fruit, twisting the halves apart and squeezing out 

 the pulp and seed into a vessel. They are then washed 

 free from pulp and dried off slightly in the sun, just 

 enough to remove such moisture as may remain on the 

 seed-coats. Sometimes the fruits are allowed to decay 

 partially, when the seed is removed by macerating in 

 water and floating off the pulp, rind, and other refuse. 



Citrous seeds will not stand drying and remain 

 viable. If they are dried, the cotyledons separate and 

 they will not germinate. Seeds may be kept several 

 weeks, or even months, by drying off on the outside 

 and packing in pulverized charcoal in tight receptacles. 

 It is best, however, to plant sour orange, rough lemon, 

 and grapefruit seeds immediately after they are 

 extracted in December and January. Trifoliata seed is 

 best extracted in September and October and planted 

 at once in soil containing considerable moisture, yet 

 well drained. Frosts are very injurious to young citrous 

 seedlings of all kinds except trifoliata. If frozen off 

 when 1 or 2 inches in height, they are killed out, but 

 trifoliata develops shoots from buds lower down on 

 the stem and the stand is but little injured. 



Seeds are planted much as garden beans are planted, 

 in rows 2 feet apart. Frequent cultivation is given 

 from the time the plants come through the soil, and 

 fertilizers rich in nitrogen are applied from time to. 

 time as required by the seedlings. Damping-off some- 

 times causes serious losses in seed-beds, but may be 

 prevented by spraying frequently with bordeaux mix- 

 ture and by keeping the soil about the plantlets dry and 

 well pulverized on top. 



Seedlings are transplanted when one year old and 6 

 to 15 inches in height or when two years old and 15 to 

 24 inches in height. Preference is given to the larger 

 seedlings, as they are easier to handle and care for 

 under field conditions. The nursery rows are spaced 4 

 feet apart, the plants about 1 foot apart in the rows. 

 A row is left out here and there at convenient distances 

 apart, making an 8-foot wagon passage. About 10,000 

 seedlings are set on an acre of ground. 



The seedlings are grown from one to two seasons in 

 the nursery, when they are ready for budding. While 

 citrous trees may be propagated in many different ways, 

 budding alone is resorted to in nursery practice in 



