This document is a compilation of web-based information about the citrus
industry in Pakistan, prepared as background briefing to the citrus scoping
study commissioned under the ASLP for July 2006. Much of the information
is copied directly from web-sources with minimal editing and is not intended
for publication.
Pakistan Industry.
In Pakistan, citrus is the major fruit crop. A mandarin type, cv. Kinnow, is
the dominates production (See Tables 1 and 2 and c.f. mango data in Table
3), and together with another cultivar, Fewtrell, represents 80 percent of
citrus grown in Pakistan. The cultivars were imported to Pakistan in 1940 -
Kinnow from California and Feutrell from Australia. Kinnow mandarin is a
hybrid resulting from a cross between King mandarin and Willowleaf
(Mediterranean common) mandarin made in 1915 by Frost in California and
released in 1935. Feutrell (the correct spelling is Fewtrell) is an old variety
from New South Wales in Australia. It may be a natural tangor (mandarin x
sweet orange), with Willowleaf as the mandarin parent. It is an early variety
(Fewtrell's early), while Kinnow is mid-season in maturity. Both Feutrell and
Kinnow mandarins have a fairly strong tendency to alternate bearing and
they have numerous seeds (Bove, 1995
15).
Table 1. Citrus production (metric tonnes (MT)) in Australia & Pakistan
Year - 2002 2003 2004 Total Production Australia 583,754 745,299 535,158 Pakistan 1,701,000 1,760,000 1,670,000 Oranges Australia 450,559 599,484 395,164 Pakistan 1,190,000 1,232,000 1,169,000 Mandarin types Australia 78,079 98,343 100,959 Pakistan 443,000 458,000 434,000
FAOSTAT data, 2005, last updated February 2005
Table 2. Citrus area harvested (ha) in Australia & Pakistan
15Bové, J.M. 1995. Virus and virus - Like diseases of citrus in the near east region. Food And Agriculture
Year - 2002 2003 2004 Total Production Australia 30,280 31,280 27,880 Pakistan 181,500 195,800 185,400 Oranges Australia 24,000 25,000 21,700 Pakistan 127,000 137,000 130,000 Mandarin types Australia 4,100 4,100 4,100 Pakistan 47,200 51,000 48,000
(it is not clear if Kinnow is listed under mandarin type or orange in FAO STAT).
Table 3. Mango production (MT) & area harvested (ha) in Australia & Pakistan
Year - 2002 2003 2004 Total Production Australia 40,973 38,970 37,169 Pakistan 1,037,145 1,034,581 1,055,987 Area harvested Australia 8,000 8,000 8,000 Pakistan 98,967 102,793 103,110
Faisalabad, Sargodha and Sahiwal are the main production areas for Kinnow.
Internationally, Pakistan produces about 8 % of the world's citrus. Compared with other citrus producing countries of the world, citrus yields in Pakistan are low, even c.f.
neighbouring countries (India and Iran). It is expected that domestic demand for citrus will increase because of population growth, consumer preferences and increased per capita income but, investment in R & D has been low. It has been suggested that that underlying socio-economic factors, labour availability and orchard management negatively and significantly affect productivity. On the technical side, the farm yard manure use,
inorganic fertilisers and plant protection practices are considered to contribute positively to productivity but they are under-utilised.
Climate:
Pakistan is subject to the summer monsoon system, and the main rainy season occurs in July, August and September. Annual rainfall in the Punjab ranges from 350 to 500 mm. During the dry season from October to January there are only occasional rains and showers. A second rainy season covers February and March, to be
followed by the dry and hot "summer" season of April, May and June, when irrigation of citrus (by submersion or flooding) is required. (Bove, 1995)
Propagation
The rootstock on which citrus is grown in the Punjab is rough lemon (Citrus
jambhiri Lush.) also called Jamberi or Jatti Khatti. In India, another lemon-like
rootstock, Citrus karna Raf., is extensively used, second only to rough lemon
(locally known as Kharna Khatta, Karna nimbu or Khatta nimbu). In the
Peshawar district, sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.) is the only rootstock and
is know locally as Khatta Taru Jabba, Seville Kimb and Sylhet lime. (Bove,
1995)
http://www.pakissan.com/english/allabout/orchards/citrus.shtm :
Improved varieties are propagated by budding on rough lemons or sour orange. Rootstocks are generally grown from seed. T budding/T grafting are the usual methods of propagation. Budding can be done during spring (Feb-March) and autumn (August-October) when bark slip freely from both scion and stock. Buds are selected from mature wood of productive and healthy trees.
Soils http://www.pakissan.com/english/allabout/orchards/citrus.shtm :
Citrus is grown on a wide range of soils, including deep sandy loam, loam and clay loam. However, they do not grow well in very heavy, clayey, sandy, alkaline or water logged soils. Citrus fruits trees are grown in both tropical and sub-tropical climates. Temperature is the main factor affecting, time of blooming, maturity, production and fruit quality of citrus. Figure 1 shows soil types of Pakistan.
Pruning http://www.pakissan.com/english/allabout/orchards/citrus.shtm :
At the time of transplanting the top portion should be balanced with the roots by removing some of the leaves, if necessary. Annual pruning is done to remove dried, diseased and those branches overcrowding the top of the tree. For a young citrus tree to have good frame work, no branches should be allowed on the main stem and two to four evenly spaced main limbs should be selected to provide balanced frame work. In Pakistan however, no systematic pruning is followed except for removal of dried, diseased and unwanted twigs.
Horticultural practices (Bove 1995)
As in many other countries, trees are often budded too low and they are
planted too deep, with the bud-union line too close to the soil, if not buried.
These inadequate practices favour the development of Phytophthora gummosis
or footrot.
In Pakistan, the practice of growing winter fodder such as Egyptian clover
(Trifolium alexandrium) in citrus orchards and the subsequent irrigation
required by such crops also favour Phytophthora gummosis. Even in the
absence of such crops, citrus seems to be over-irrigated.
Water Management
The 4 000 year old Indus civilization has its roots in irrigated agriculture. The abandoned creeks of the meandering river, inundated during the flood season, are supposed to have served as the irrigation channels of the ancient systems. The first controlled all-year irrigation began in 1859 with the completion of the Upper Bari Doab Canal emanating from the Madhopur headworks on the Ravi river. The Sukkur barrage, completed in 1932, is considered as the first modern hydraulic structure on the downstream Indus river.
Pakistan can be divided into three hydrological units:
o The Indus basin, covering more than 566 000 km² (or 71 percent of the territory), comprising the whole of the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and NWFP as well as the eastern part of Balochistan.
o The Karan desert in the west of Balochistan (in the west of the country), which is an endorheic basin covering 15 percent of the territory.
o The arid Makran coast along the Arabian Sea covering 14 percent of the territory in its southwestern part (Balochistan province).
Total water withdrawal in 2001 was estimated at 166 km³, of which 95.6 percent for agricultural purposes (4.4 percent is withdrawn for domestic use and another 1.6 percent for industrial use). Groundwater abstraction for agriculture has been roughly estimated at 63 km³/year through more than 500 000 tubewells. However, in some areas, development appears to have reached the point where groundwater is being mined. Most urban and rural water is supplied from groundwater. Over 50 percent of the village water supply is obtained through hand pumps installed by private households. In saline groundwater areas, irrigation canals are the main source of domestic water.
According to the usual Pakistani classification irrigation consists of:
o Government canals: 6.38 million ha in 2001/02, of which 58 percent in the Punjab and 29 percent in Sindh province;
o private canals: 0.43 million ha, of which 81 percent are in NWFP; o tube wells: 3.45 million ha, of which 82 percent are in Punjab province; o open wells: 0.2 million ha, of which 55 percent are in Punjab province; o canals and tubewells: 7.24 million ha, all of them in Punjab province; o other means: 0.18 million ha.
The total irrigated area is 18 million ha. About 4 million ha is rainfed. The main irrigated crops are wheat, rice, sugar cane and cotton. Owing to inadequate water availability in winter (storage capacity is too small) and at the beginning and end of summer, cropping intensity is exceptionally low. According to a World Bank report, Pakistan does not have enough reservoir capacity in its irrigation system to store seasonal waters.
According to the Soil Survey of Pakistan (Mian and Javed, 1993), 2.8 million hectares of irrigated land is affected by salinity ranging from patchy salinity to dense saline sodic soils.
Citrus irrigation http://www.pakissan.com/english/allabout/orchards/citrus.shtm : The preferred method of irrigation is a basin round each tree. There should be channels connecting basins so that irrigation of fruits trees can be independent of the intercropped area between the tree lines which have different water
requirements. Growth sensitive periods to water shortage are flowering time (Feb/Mar), fruit setting (Apr/May).
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/agwaterusefinalreport.pdf
IWMI s general conclusion for Pakistan is that the country will face physical water scarcity by 2025 —that is, primary water supply more than 60 per cent of the potential utilizable water resource. Consequently, Pakistan will require 102 per cent of its potential utilizable water resource to feed its population. This means it will experience absolute scarcity of internal water resources irrespective of the financial or management means available (Table 11).
Given this forecast and the fact that opportunities to increase total water supply are severely limited, it is clear that, to meet future demands for food production, Pakistan will have to invest significantly in increasing water efficiency in existing irrigated areas.
Fertilizers and Manures
http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/007/y5460e/y5460e06.htm Recommendations for fruit crops: Most of the recommendations for citrus are on a per plant basis. After planting the fruit tree, the application in the first year on average is 150 g N, 50 g P2O5 and 50 g K2O, mixed with 10-15 kg of well
decomposed FYM for every plant. The dose in g is incrementally increased every year by about 75 g for N, 50 g for P2O5 and 25 g for K2O. Thus a mature plant of about 10 years will receive 1.5 kg N, 0.5 kg P2O5 and 0.5 kg K2O, mixed well with about 50 kg well decomposed FYM. Micronutrients are also to be added.
http://www.pakissan.com/english/allabout/orchards/citrus.shtm :
o Apply farm yard manures (FYMs) at the rate of 40 to 80 kg per tree during the winter season in Dec/Jan before flowering. Apply 3-4 kg SSP and 1.5 to 2 kg of Urea 15-20 days (Jan/Feb) before flowering.
o Supply a further amount of Urea of 1.5 kg per tree after fruit setting (Mar/Apr).
o If necessary 1.5 kg of Potassium Sulphate may be applied at the time of applying FYM.
o Watering is essential after each application of fertilizer.
Effect of Foliar Application of Zinc, Manganese and Boron in Combination with Urea on the Yield of Sweet Orange
Sajida Perveen and Hafeez-ur-Rehman 2000, Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research 16 No.2 http://www.parc.gov.pk/Pjar/journal16-2.html
Foliar application of zinc, manganese and boron alone and in various combinations were applied to sweet orange trees @ 0.4, 0.2 and 0.04 kg in the presence of 1.56 kg N (urea) and 0.4 kg surf/ha dissolved in 400 litres of water. The main effects and interactions of foliar spray of Zn, Mn and B in factorial combinations were studied relative to micronutrient concentration in citrus leaves and fruit yield of sweet orange. Zinc significantly increased
leaf Zn contents and fruit yield as compared to trees where Zn was not included in foliar spray. The highest yield of 105.3 kg/tree was obtained from trees sprayed with Zn alone. Application of Mn significantly increased leaf Mn content, fruit yield and intensified the red colour of skin and juice. Application of boron significantly increased total yield, but did not influence leaf boron content. On the basis of VCR and maximum net return 0.4 kg of Zn/ha in the presence of 1.56 kg of N/ha (urea) and surf 0.4 kg/ha is recommended for higher production of citrus and for curing the zinc deficiency in Peshawar valley.
Pests and Diseases http://www.pakissan.com/english/allabout/orchards/citrus.shtm An overview on citrus diseases (emphasising viruses and greening) is attached as Attachment A to Appendix 3. It is summary of a document by Bove, 1995
The following are notes on pests and diseases and recommendations:
o Aphids: Aphid attack is severe during Feb and April. Use diazinon 40% or Eldrine 20%, 1 kg in 450 litres of water. Insecticides should not be applied within 6 weeks of marketing the fruit.
o Citrus Leaf Minor: Use malathion 57 or metasystox 50% at the rate of 500 grams in 450 litres of water per acre for its control.
o Lemon Butterfly: It can be controlled effectively by using malathion and metasystox
o Citrus Whitefly: This attacks the fruits and causes great losses in yield and quality. This pest can also be controlled by using malathion 57%. This should not be applied within 6 weeks of marketing the fruit.
o Red Scales: These are sucking types of insects and cause great damage to Kinnow and sweet oranges in Punjab. They can survive throughout the year. Use parathion or malathion at the rate of 752 grams in 450 litres of water per acre for its effective control.
o Foot Rot: (Phytophthora) Its attack is severe in poorly drained soils. The affected tree gradually dries up. Remove the soil from around the affected trees without damaging the roots and improve on farm drainage for its effective control.
o Withertip: This disease is caused by nutritional deficiencies. The branches and fruits of the affected trees start drying and the tree becomes
uneconomical to maintain. Apply a balanced dose of Bordeaux Mixture 450 after cutting affected branches from the trees.
o Citrus Canker: This is a bacterial disease. There is no effective treatment for this disease except to cut and remove the affected trees and spray
formaldehyde at the spots from where the diseased trees have been removed. Recommendation 1 Given the documented low productivity of citrus in
Pakistan, a starting point for the scoping visit would be to assess the key factors affecting productivity.
Farm Size. Small and medium scale (and especially small) producers dominate the industry.
Harvest of citrus occurs almost throughout the year but mostly from December to March (Figure 2). The fruit should be picked when it is fully ripe. The best method is to pick the individual fruit by holding it in one hand and cutting the stalk with a knife and collecting it into boxes or baskets to avoid injury to the stem. The average yield expected from different types of fruits of various species are 500 to 1000 fruit per tree.
The Kinnow season starts from December and last till April (Figure 2). Kinnow is very delicious in taste and if treated with proper fungicide and wax and careful handing and storage of Kinnow at about 4 C can retain it’s freshness for 2 months.
Figure 2 Harvest Calendar for Citrus and Mango in Pakistan
(Pakistan Export Board) http://www.phdeb.org.pk/harvest_calender.php
Postharvest quality and disease management.
http://www.telmedpak.com/agricultures.asp?a=agriculture&b=post_harvest
A copy of web information for postharvest handling of Pakistan citrus is attached as Attachment B of Appendix 3.
The control of post-harvest diseases is vital for maintaining quality and shelf-life in an exporting market where transportation may take weeks. Postharvest diseases can be separated into two categories based on their initial infections:
¾ Pre-harvest infections which develop into diseases caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Phomopsis citri, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Phytophthora species and Alternaria citri.
¾ Postharvest infections caused by wound pathogens Penicillium digitatum, Penicillium italicum and Geotrichum citriauranti.
Beside green and blue moulds, anthracnose, sour rot, black rot and Lasiodiplodia and Phomopsis stem-end rot cause post-harvest losses. Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporiodes is a major decay in tangerines that are harvested early in autumn when long periods of degreening are required to enhance the fruit appearance. (Hina Kamal, 2006, http://www.dawn.com/2006/01/23/ebr7.htm ) Excessive degreening can significantly enhance decays such as Lasiodiplodia stem- end rot and anthracnose. The concentration of ethylene and duration of degreening treatment are correlated with the decay incidence and severity.
Cleaning fruit and removing surface dirt which harbours microbes and post-harvest pathogens is important in minimizing the decay and is usually achieved through spraying sanitizers such as chlorine in water or soaking fruit in water to which soda ash is added. Immersions of lemons in three per cent sodium carbonate at 35°C for 30 seconds is a common commercial practice for the control of moulds and sour rot.
Washing is usually accomplished over brush beds with the aid of approved
cleansers or soaps. During washing, fruit is scrubbed for approximately 30 seconds as they travel over rotating brushes. At this stage care must be taken to avoid
injury to fruit, often caused by prolonged brushing, rigid brush fibre and excessive speed. Washing is followed by a potable water rinse to remove soap and surface contaminants. Fruit is then dried with heated air and graded to remove defective ones. (Hina Kamal, 2006, http://www.dawn.com/2006/01/23/ebr7.htm
According to one export company, fruit are washed, waxed and treated with
citrashine+fungazil 500ec+tbz after harvest, and treated fruit will store at 4C up to 50 days. (Note: need to check acceptability of chemicals used to importing
countries eg residues etc?)
(http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11172176/Fresh_Orange_Kinno_Mandarin_.html )
Domestic and Export marketing
The website of the Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board contains considerable useful information including a document on the National marketing standard for Kinnow (attached as PDF file).
http://www.phdeb.org.pk/qualitycontrol.php
Table 4. Citrus and Mango trade (MT fresh product) from Australia & Pakistan.
(FAO Stat Data, 2005 + Australian industry data)
Year - 2002 2003 2004 Citrus Exports (MT) Australia 85,000 101,000 69,000 Pakistan 0 311,000 64,000 Mango Exports (MT) Australia16 4713 2479 3112 Pakistan 47,561 60,441 82,059
Zaki Aijaz, co-conveyor Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCC,) said that Pakistan is a second-largest exporter of Kinnow after India. Pakistan exported 121,000 tonnes of Kinno during previous fiscal year. The Far East, Sri Lanka and Dubai are the major export markets for Pakistani Kinnow, while the fruit is also exported to Europe. Pakistan is ranked 5th in the largest Kinnow producing countries. Table 4 shows export data for Australian and Pakistan citrus and mangoes. (These figures differ from info below:)
Pakistan losing $44.5m yearly in Kinno exports (edited) By Monem Farooqi, The Nation 11 January 2005
Lahore - Pakistan simply is losing $44.5 million yearly in Kinno exports because of the absence of basic infrastructure, transportation facilities, deficiencies in storage, scarcity of farm inputs, credit systems, advance sales, specialized research, gaps in the cold chain and limited cold storage
16 FAO STAT does not show export figures for Australian mangoes. Data shown is Australian industry
facilities, scarcity in cargo space, deficiencies in highly-skewed production, processing and packing, ruthless international competition, shortage of water accompanied by virus infection, resulting in poor crops. The industrial sources told The Nation that Pakistan is presently is producing 3 million tonnes of Kinnow and hardly can manage to import 9 percent of the production. http://nation.com.pk/daily/jan-2005/11/bnews5.php
(Note c.f. table 4, this is a production over-estimate X 6)
http://nation.com.pk/daily/jan-2005/11/bnews5.php
Zaki Aijaz, of Roshan Enterprises, a leading exporter, said that about 40 per cent postharvest losses in Kinnow reduced supply and put pressure on prices.
Web information suggests that there is demand for export Kinnow (e.g. Iran), but poor shelf-life and inadequate export infrastructure hampered opportunities.
Recommendation 2 The scoping study should document export information including opportunities, challenges and threats.
Factors to consider include cool chain handling, access to cargo space, international acceptability of quality standards and postharvest treatments (including market access issues such as residues and pest/disease issues). Zaki Aijaz suggested that advance sales were also a root cause of financial