Micro-budding
Grafting is an ancient technique, described in biblical times. It is when you combine characteristics of two types of trees through cuts and sealing them together.
Citrus is grafted to get the hardy characteristics of the 'root stock' with the tasty desired characteristics of the 'bud'.
In 1997, our founder, Dr. Mani invented the micro-budding technique, a new way of grafting citrus trees at a younger and smaller stage.
This unique technique allows citrus trees to grow faster and bear fruit earlier. These all-natural improvements happen because of 'apical dominance' of the hormonal system of the plant.
This is a fancy way of saying because the graft is vertical and at the top of the tree, this is where the plant's growth hormones are naturally directed. Combine that with doing the grafting at a very young age, the plant now has the ability to repair itself and grow very rapidly.
All of our trees are micro-budded by hand in our own nursery. These trees have been shown to have excellent root development and early fruit bearing in the right conditions, verified by packout harvest.
GETTING TO THE ROOT
Our trees benefit from the finest treatment with Dr. Mani's Magic Microbial Mix, sourced from organic compost for optimal health and growth.
For pest & fungal control we use Dr. Mani's Magic Pest Protect Pro, a solubilized form of organic diatomaceous earth and sulfur.
And finally, for the best root growth we plant our trees in Dr. Mani's Magic Super Soil, and airy and moisture retentive media that doesn't place any constraints on the growth of plant roots.
Dr. Mani
In 1988 Dr. Mani Skaria moved to South Texas as a research scientist for the Texas A&M Citrus Center. He had previously developed a citrus program for the Kingdom of Jordan with USAID and then was a professor at Washington State University working with the apple industry.
In 2019 for his contributions to the Texas citrus industry, Dr. Skaria is made Professor Emeritus at Texas A&M - Kingsville and is recognized with the prestigious Pott's Award.
Agricultural Contributions
After becoming the lead citrus pathologist in Texas, Dr. Skaria implemented the clean citrus program. This is the process is the cornerstone protection against disease for the Texas citrus industry.
In 1997, Dr. Skaria invented the micro-budding grafting technique. This all-natural process allows for drastically reduced land and resource use with quicker fruit production. Upon this backbone, he founds and leads US Citrus & US Citrus Nursery in 2012.
Under Dr. Skaria's leadership, US Citrus Nursery has commercialized micro-budding, making a His mission and passion is to get high-quality, special citrus fruits to the American consumer, all straight from our groves!
Our Operations
Since 2012, US Citrus Nursery has been grafting and growing citrus trees in Hargill, a tiny town in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
The community has rewarded us with bountiful inspiration, strengthening our citrus culture.