Sweet orange
Citrus
fruits rank third in area and production after banana and mango in India and
sweet orange are the second largest citrus fruits being cultivated. Sweet
orange growing states are Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab,
Haryana and Rajasthan. Maximum area under sweet oranges is in Andhra Pradesh
followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka. Well marked belts of sweet orange
cultivation in the country are Abohar, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Faridkot and
Hoshiarpur in Punjab; Hisar in Haryana; Ganganagar district in Rajasthan;
Marathwada region of Central Maharashtra, Ahmednagar, Pune and Nasik of Western
Maharashtra and Anantapur, Kodur, Cuddapah Nelgonda, Chittor districts of
Andhra Pradesh.
Climate and soil
The production of sweet orange is largely
favoured by dry, semi-arid to subtropical conditions. However, plants grow
well under sub-tropical climate and can even withstand occasional light frosts.
However, good results are not sure under cooler climates. Several hours of
exposure to a temperature of –3°C will cause severe injury to plants. On the
other hand, very high temperature are also detrimental. The average temperature
for growth is about 16–20°C. Hence, it can tolerate well maximum temperature of
32°–40°C and minimum of 17°–27°C as it exists in most of the sweet orange
growing belts of the country. Being evergreen citrus require good amount of
water and as least well distributed annual rainfall of 500–775mm is necessary.
When rainfall is unevenly distributed over the year, additional irrigation will
often be necessary. Under warmer conditions, the colour development is poor,
however, excellent deep orange colour of the skin develops when grown under
subtropical conditions. Quality is very good under dry semi-arid conditions,
while under humid conditions fruits turn insipid.
Sweet Orange can be grown on a wide range of
soil. These will grown in almost any soil if it is sufficiently aerated
and deep allowing the roots to penetrate to desired depth. In India, sweet
orange is being cultivated on a wide range of soils e.g., alluvial, sandy loam
to loam, red sand soils to black clayey soils. In Andhra Pradesh, it is grown
on red soil with loamy sub-soils, red sandy soils and black clayey soils. The
sweet orange growing areas of Maharashtra have black soils. Thus, a well
drained sandy loam to clay loam is preferred by sweet oranges.
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