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Tangerines
Growing & Harvesting
Tangerines are actually a type of mandarin orange.
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Image courtesy of www.sunrisecoast.co.nz
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The mandarin tree may be smaller than or equal to the size of a regular sweet orange tree, depending on what variety is being grown. Also, mandarins can grow in colder conditions and with less water than a sweet orange.
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Even though they are a much less picky fruit to grow, they are very sensitive and easily damaged.
The mandarin trees like to grow in sandy soil, so that water drains away easily.
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Image courtesy of University of Missouri Extension and Agriculture
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Mandarins are usually grown on rootstock by grafting.
Grafting is when a shoot or bud is cut from one growing plant and attached to another plant. In this case, a mandarin bud is cut from a tree and grafted onto the rootstock, or stump, of another type of orange tree.
Then the two different plants grow together as one.
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After the mandarin trees are planted, they need to grow for 2 years before they produce any delicious fruits.
When it’s time to harvest, workers go to the fields with picking bags and either cut or twist the mandarins off the tree. The fruit must be handled very carefully because they are easily bruised. |
Image courtesy of www.triplecgroves.com
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From the bags, the mandarins are gently placed into bins lined with plastic – then it’s off to the packinghouse!
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