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Sathgudi sweet orange (YSR Kadapa belt) Photo: M1DDL3 M7N · Pexels License · source ↗

Sathgudi sweet orange

Sathgudi (also spelt Sathukudi or Sathkudi) is the dominant sweet-orange cultivar of Citrus sinensis in the YSR Kadapa belt of Andhra Pradesh and across Rayalaseema more broadly. It is grown on more than 1 lakh hectares concentrated in YSR Kadapa, Anantapur, Kurnool and parts of Chittoor districts and is the single most important commercial fruit crop of the region after banana and mango. Botanically Sathgudi is a sweet orange (not a true lime) and is equivalent to the Mosambi of Marathwada in fruit type but distinct in tree habit and field practice.

Key characteristics

  • Scientific name: Citrus sinensis (sweet orange)
  • Fruit: medium to large, round, yellow-green to pale orange rind at maturity; juicy, sweet pulp with 9-11° Brix; 6-12 seeds.
  • Tree: medium-vigour, spreading habit; commercial yield from year 4-5.
  • Bahar: trees flower in ambia bahar (Jan-Feb) and mrig bahar (Jun-Jul); Rayalaseema growers crop the ambia bahar (harvest Oct-Dec) and rest the mrig bahar.
  • Yield: 15-25 t/ha at full bearing under drip irrigation; 30-40 t/ha on the best-managed YSR Kadapa orchards.
  • Climate: warm subtropical to semi-arid; well-drained red gravelly loam.

Cultivation zones

The YSR Kadapa belt — Pulivendula, Vempalle, Chinnamandem, Rayachoti and Pendlimarri mandals — is the heart of Sathgudi production in India. Plantings extend west into Anantapur (Tadipatri, Yadiki) and Kurnool (Banaganapalle, Dhone) and east into Chittoor (Madanapalle). The crop is also grown commercially in Tamil Nadu (Krishnagiri, Hosur) and Karnataka (Chitradurga). Sathgudi performs well in the well-drained red-gravelly kankar soils typical of the Pulivendula plateau but is sensitive to waterlogged black soils.

Cultivation practice

Sathgudi is propagated by T-budding on Rangpur lime (Rangpur Lime Rootstock) in YSR Kadapa, which is the default rootstock for the belt. Spacing is conventionally 6 m x 6 m (277 trees/ha); high-density plantings at 5 m x 5 m and 4 m x 4 m are increasingly adopted with shorter productive life (Citrus Spacing Canopy Collapse). Drip irrigation with two or four drippers per tree is now standard; basin flooding is being phased out because it predisposes trees to Phytophthora gummosis. ANGRAU and Dr YSR Horticultural University recommend an annual fertiliser schedule of 600 g N + 250 g P + 600 g K per tree, applied in three split doses, for a 5-year-old or older Sathgudi tree.

Pest and disease profile

The crop's main constraints are Phytophthora gummosis (Citrus Gummosis), citrus canker caused by Xanthomonas citri pv. citri (Citrus Canker Xanthomonas), and the emerging threat of citrus greening / huanglongbing (HLB) (Citrus Greening Hlb Candidatus) and its psylla vector. Citrus leaf miner and orchard mites are also significant. Indexed planting material from ICAR-CCRI Nagpur, Tirupati horticultural research station and YSR Horticultural University accredited nurseries is critical to avoid bringing greening into a new orchard.

Adoption and use

Sathgudi is consumed primarily as fresh juice in markets across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka — the YSR Kadapa belt supplies juice stalls and processing units across south India. Pulivendula and Rayachoti are the principal mandi centres. Processing into ready-to-serve juice and concentrate is growing but remains a small share of the crop.

See also: Mosambi (sweet lime / Batavia), Citrus Gummosis, Citrus Canker Xanthomonas, Rangpur Lime Rootstock.

Sources

  1. Sweet Orange cultivation. ICAR-CCRI Nagpur.
  2. Sathgudi Package of Practices. Dr YSR Horticultural University.
  3. Package of Practices for Horticultural Crops. ANGRAU.