Building up young citrus tree roots is key to helping trees prepare to combat citrus greening.
Citrus greening takes a huge toll on citrus trees, hitting tree roots especially hard. Helping to build up young citrus tree roots is an important step to ensuring new trees will be able to combat the disease as well as possible, according to UF/IFAS citrus root pathologist Evan Johnson. Johnson shared tips at the Citrus Expo on helping young citrus trees grow healthy root systems before contracting citrus greening. Those tips were shared in a Citrus Industry article. See them below.
Tips for Young Citrus Tree Roots
Johnson maintained the following steps can help young citrus trees to grow strong, healthy root systems:
- Start by testing grove soil before planting and picking rootstocks that match the soil.
- Order trees from a reputable nursery and avoid rootbound root systems by not having nurseries hold the trees too long, and *make sure the trees’ roots are not rootbound and are healthy when delivered.
- Break up the young tree’s rootball to encourage root growth and to allow it to take up water and fertilizers.
- Don’t jam trees into the hole when planting, which can cause j-rooting.
- Monitor and treat for phytophthora as needed, “especially if you have a history of phytophthora in a site,” Johnson said.
Customizing your fertilizer program to ensure citrus trees are getting the perfect amount of nutrients is another way to help young citrus trees to build strong roots before and after citrus greening infection.
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.