Mandarin 'Murcott Afourer' fruit (photo courtesy Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery - Daleysfruit.com.au)
Mandarin 'Murcott Afourer'
Citrus reticulata
Rutaceae family
Grafted
The 'Murcott Afourer' Mandarin has both high sugar and high acid content, giving it a rich, honey-like taste with a hint of tanginess. The glossy peel is easy to remove, and segments separate readily. Harvest is generally late winter to early spring, with fruit holding well on the tree. It is low-seeded in the absence of cross-pollination, but seedy when cross-pollinated.
Trees are vigorous and have a relatively upright growth habit.
Tree Maintenance (Citrus)
Pruning
Citrus reticulata
Rutaceae family
Grafted
The 'Murcott Afourer' Mandarin has both high sugar and high acid content, giving it a rich, honey-like taste with a hint of tanginess. The glossy peel is easy to remove, and segments separate readily. Harvest is generally late winter to early spring, with fruit holding well on the tree. It is low-seeded in the absence of cross-pollination, but seedy when cross-pollinated.
Trees are vigorous and have a relatively upright growth habit.
Tree Maintenance (Citrus)
Pruning
- When mature, prune half the tree after harvest to keep it healthy and shaped.
- Remove dead, inward facing or crossing branches. Remove any suckers from the rootstock below the graft.
- During establishment, water slow and deep each fortnight, more often if very dry or hot. As it matures, the tree will become more drought tolerant.
- Watering may be needed when young fruit is forming.
- Spring: liquid seaweed, compost around drip line.
- Summer: Compost around drip line, poultry manure, worm wee (10:1).
- Autumn: liquid seaweed, compost around drip line, sulphate of potash, poultry manure.
- Avoid applying fertiliser while trees are preparing to flower, flowering and up until fruit are larger than marbles.
- Keep soil well mulched, leaving a gap around the trunk to avoid collar rot.
- Spray with horticultural oil if sap-sucking insects or scale occur (avoid spraying on days where temperatures may reach above 30°C, or foliage can become burnt). Black sooty mould on the leaves is a symptom of these pests; ants are also an indicator that there is a problem, as ants will farm and protect the insects in order to consume their sweet secretions.
Mandarin 'Murcott Afourer' at LCG October 2023 (photo credit: Graham Bond)
