Leaving Mature Citrus Fruit on Ground Not Good

Q. What are the best practices to use if I decide to leave calamondin fruits on the ground under the tree to decompose. Or is it better to put the fallen fruit in the trash from the git-go?

Immature calamondin (calamansi) fruit from the tree in the Philippines at MoCa Family Farm

A. Calamondin, called calamansi in the Filipino community, is a small citrus resembling a lime but is golden yellow inside. This citrus is native to the Philippines.

            Fruit can turn orange in color but is frequently harvested when green but the interior flesh is a golden yellow. We have about 8 calamondin on our farm in the Philippines where we have a tropical climate and they do very well there.

            Let’s be clear about growing citrus in the Las Vegas Valley. Many citrus, since they are semi tropical, share a risk of losing the fruit, or possibly the tree, during some cold winters and early spring freezing temperatures. There are parts of the Valley too cold most years for even the hardiest of citrus. Other areas with warmer winter microclimates can grow them. As long as you are comfortable with that possibility, have fun and grow them!

            In my opinion, all fruit trees should have the area under them free from rotting, mature fruit. Very young fruit is usually not a problem if it falls on the ground and decomposes. Immature fruit thinned from the trees can be dropped on the ground to decompose with no problems. Mature fruit dropped on the ground may present a different issue.

            If this were a peach, fig, apricot or plum tree we would most certainly cleanup the fallen mature fruit that dropped on the ground. There is a pest called the dried fruit beetle that becomes a problem infesting soft, mature fruit growing on the tree if fallen fruit is not picked up from the ground. With citrus, the only pests to worry about are rats and mice. To be on the safe side, I would pick up fallen fruit and dispose of them rather than leave them on the ground to rot and attract varmints.

            By the way, calamondin is easily grown from seed and does well on its own roots rather than purchasing it grafted like most commercial citrus trees.