Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
Citrus Production
Manuel Agustí, Carlos Mesejo, Carmina Reig
and Amparo Martínez-Fuentes
Abstract
Currently, citrus is the main fruit tree crop in the world (104 million t,
7.1 × 10
6
ha) with production largely cultivated in Brazil, China, India, USA, México,
and Spain as well as many other tropical and subtropical regions of the world. There
are six citrus groups of economic interest: sweet orange [
C. sinensis
(L.) Osb.], com-
mon mandarin (
C. reticulata
Blanco), Satsuma mandarin (
C. unshiu
Marc.), grape-
fruit (
C. paradisi
Macf.), lemon (
C. limon
Burm. f.) and lime (
C. aurantifolia
L.)
with an additional group of hybrids under consideration. This chapter discusses the
main exogenous and endogenous factors that determine citrus fruit production and
quality (edaphoclimatic requirements, fruit and tree physiology, plant nutrition, and
physiological fruit disorders) when in cultivation.
Keywords
Citrus spp.
·
Taxonomy
·
Flowering
·
Fruit development
·
Ripening
·
Cultural practices
Introduction
Origin and Distribution
Citrus
originated in eastern Asia, in an area that extends from the Himalayan south-
ern slope to southern China, Indochina, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The
oldest reference known comes from China and belongs to the
Book of History
