Why You Should Plant A Tangerine Today

Tangerine (Citrus reticulata) is a small thin-skinned variety of orange belonging to the mandarin orange species of the family Rutaceae. The tender, juicy, richly flavored pulp is abundant in vitamin C. Oil extracted from the fragrant skin of the tangerine is a characteristic ingredient in several flavorings and liqueurs.

Tangerine Tree 

The tangerine tree is smaller than other orange trees. It bears slender twigs and glossy lance-shaped evergreen leaves. The white five-petalled flowers are fragrant. The fruit is slightly flattened at either end and has a loose reddish orange peel and easily separated segments. Some varieties ship well, and those marketed commercially include Minneola, Orlando, Dancy, and Seminole. Tangerines have been crossed with grapefruit to produce tangelos.

Tangerine skin is so easy to peel; it is like unzipping a zipper on a jacket. The Tangerine fruit also come in separate sections that are easy to peel apart and are absolutely delicious. Tangerines have a very short growing season so they are in great demand when they are available.

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Varieties

There are several different types of tangerines including Clementines, Tangelos, and Temples.

Clementines: are a small sweet and seedless variety of tangerines. They are also known as the Algerian Tangerine. The skin that covers the inner fruit is thinner than what you will find with regular tangerines. Clementines are known for their sweet tasting juice and are often used for cooking because of their sweetness. Many people like to make marmalade from Clementines because of their sweet taste.

Tangelos: are very interesting, because they are a cross between a pomelo and a tangerine. The name Tangelo is generated from the combination of the words pomelo and “tangerine.” At first glance one might mistake a Tangelo for a large orange but, you can tell the difference between a Tangelo and an orange because Tangelos have a unique shape, like a bell, while oranges are perfectly round. Tangelos are also smaller than oranges.

Tangerine Fruit

Temples: are also known as the Royal Mandarin. Temples are a hybrid fruit that are the result of cross breeding an orange and a tangerine. Temples look like a small orange instead of a large tangerine. They are absolutely delicious because they are extremely juicy and sweet. Many people think that Temples taste more like oranges than tangerines. To find out if they taste more like oranges than tangerines to you, you might want to try them when they are in season, which is from January to March.

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Ecological Requirements

Tangerines grow well in areas that don’t have harsh winters and will produce an abundance of flavorful fruit every year with just a little bit of help. Tangerine is a seasonal fruit just like oranges and lemons. While a single tree can produce fruit on its own, planting more than one tangerine cultivar in an area can increase the yield of tangerines on all the trees. Major production areas in Kenya are at the Coast, Eastern and Rift Valley provinces.

Climatic Conditions

Tangerines are relatively cold-tolerant, making them easier to grow than oranges, grapefruits and other types of citrus. With its different varieties, anyone living Kenya should be able to find tangerine cultivars that will thrive in their area, if they get full sun. Some varieties, such as the Citrus reticulata that is Dancy variety are heat-tolerant and do best when it is hot, but other types, including the Citrus reticulate, that is the Sunburst, do best when it’s on the cool side.

Planting

A planting hole size of 2ft by 2ft by 2ft is established and manure of about 20kg per hole is mixed with the top soil and then put in the hole. Planting is done and watering should be done at least twice a day in the initial stages of planting.

Thinning

Some trees will produce large quantities of tangerines, resulting in fruit that does not develop well or possibly even broken tree branches if the weight becomes too much. While in most cases you don’t need to thin citrus fruit, sometimes tangerines require it. If a tree has set a lot of fruit, remove some of it when it is about an inch across by grabbing each fruit to be removed and gently twisting it until it breaks free of the tree, continuing the process until you have about 3 to 4 inches of space between each of the remaining tangerines. Remove all the fruits from trees that are two years old or less, allowing the trees time to become well-established before producing fruit.

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Pruning

Dead wood must be removed regularly. When the trees become too big and start growing into one another, pruning is also recommended.

Branches touching the ground hamper the removal of fruit lying underneath the tree, impede irrigation and promote ant infestation of the trees. They should also be removed.

Weeding

It is very important to keep the area under the canopy free from weeds. This is because the weeds compete for growth factors like nutrients and water and harbor pathogens.

Watering

Tangerines require moist, well-drained soil and will use lots of water as the fruit develops, but over-watering can kill the tree by drowning the roots or promoting rot. Gently soak the soil around the tree, then allow it to become partly dry before soaking it again. Be consistent when watering the tree, since fluctuating amounts of moisture will cause the tangerines to split. A drip system is ideal for watering tangerine trees. Another option is to dig a ditch around the tree, at the drip line, and fill it with water every week to 10 days, depending on your soil and climate conditions. In very dry areas, choose a drought-tolerant variety such as the Sunburst for best results. Areas with high humidity and moderate rainfall are also ideal for tangerine farming.

Soil

Tangerine oranges grow well in well-drained soils with a pH range of 5.5 to 7.5 and altitudes of 0 to 1200 meters above sea level . They do not thrive in waterlogged soils, which can lead to root rot and other diseases.

Fertilizer

Feeding tangerine trees is important if you want to have a healthy tree and get a good crop of fruit each year. It’s recommended that you apply a fertilizer designed especially for citrus trees, as the trees are heavy users of zinc, nitrogen and iron. Follow given directions to determine the correct amount for your tree, and divide the yearly dose into thirds, applying the first feeding in the spring (March- May) just before the tree blooms; the next dose two months later; and the final feeding a month after that. Don’t feed the tree late, typically after July, as you may end up stimulating new growth that will be too tender to survive the cold season.

Tangerine Tree Plant

Common Pest and Diseases

Pests

These include: mealy bug, false coding moth, aphids, black flies, mites, thrips

Management

1. Monitoring: Regularly inspect your trees for signs of pests.
2. Cultural Practices: Maintain tree health with proper irrigation, fertilization, and pruning.
3. Biological Control: Introduce or conserve natural predators such as ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps.
4. Chemical Control: Use pesticides judiciously, and opt for targeted, low-toxicity options when necessary. Always follow label instructions.

Diseases

These include: Rust, powdery mildew, Citrus black spot, citrus greening, anthracnose, citrus canker, leprosis, bacterial spot

Management

1. By the use of disease free planting material to avoid diseases.
2. Choosing rootstocks and cultivars that are tolerant or resistant to prevalent diseases
3. Also application of fungicides such as copper, sulfur, clay powder and fennel oil is recommended. Copper can control several disease problems. However, it must not be forgotten that high Copper accumulations in the soil is toxic for soil microbial life and reduce the cation exchange capacity

Maturity

Tangerines mature between 2-3 years. An acre can occupy 200 seedlings with a spacing of 5 by 5m. Profitability starts at around 5 years where each plant can produce more than 300 fruits.

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Harvesting

Tangerines are harvested from March to August, when their characteristic color which is yellow, orange and or red, depending on the variety spreads over 75% of the surface of the fruit. Hand picking is recommended.

Tangerine Harvest

Yield

Your tangerine tree will take about three to four years to bear fruit. A Mature Tangerine can produce a minimum of 300 fruits per year. The current price of each fruit at the farm gate is Ksh. 20.This means you can get about Ksh. 6000 per tree and with 200 trees per acre you can manage farming profitably.

• Cost per seedling: ksh.350
• Seedlings per acre: 200
• Spacing: 5m by 5m
• Fruit price: 150 per kg depending on variety
• Yield: 270-300 fruits per annually
• Common pests: mealy bug, false coding moth, aphids, black flies, mites, thrips
• Common diseases: Rust, powdery mildew, Citrus black spot, citrus greening, anthracnose, citrus canker, leprosis, bacterial spot
• Lifespan: 20 -30 productive years, but may live 50-150 years

Frequently Asked Questions

• Are tangerines profitable for fruit farming in Kenya?
• What season do tangerines grow in?
• How do you know when tangerines are ready to pick?
• Where do tangerines grow best?
• Which country is famous for tangerine?
• Which oranges grow best in Kenya?
• What is the lifespan of a tangerine tree?
• What is the difference between an orange and a tangerine?
• Is it difficult to grow tangerines?
• What is the best climate to grow tangerines?
• How long does it take to grow a tangerine tree from seed?