When to plant Lemon in Guji

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Lemon

Oromia, Ethiopia

The lemon (Citrus limon) is a citrus tree, not a yearly crop — you plant it once and it can crop for decades, flowering and fruiting almost all year round.

Lemon in Guji, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure Rain-fed With irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant (establish) 29 Jan 2026 – 26 Sep 2026 closed for this season 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027
Expected harvest 22.8–23.1 t/ha about 36.9 t/ha
Work it takes 102–218 days per hectare, by hand

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 15 Mar 2026. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's outlook for Guji leans wet. Plant at the early end of the window, and make sure water can drain off the field — a wet year does more damage through waterlogging than through the rain itself.

Planting after 26 Sep 2026 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Guji

Rain and temperature 96%
The soil 96%
The lie of the land 45%

For lemon in Guji, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 45%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.

The 2026 season in Guji

Rainy seasonsTwo each year — two chances to plant
When the rains are expectedJuly 2026 to December 2026
Rain in a typical yearAbout 935 mm
This season's rainLeaning wet — October, November and December look heavier than usual. Make sure water can drain off the field; a wet year does more damage through waterlogging and disease than through the rain itself.
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +1.4 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supportsenough rain for one full main crop, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers4 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 30% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
30% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 222 growing days · about 840 mm · August to December
15% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 319 growing days · about 1,610 mm · February to December
14% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 310 growing days · about 1,250 mm · February to December
12% enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 161 growing days · about 630 mm · March to June

last updated 16 September 2026

Sloping ground holds back about 10% of yield here.

What lemon needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained loam or sandy loam soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 6.0 and 6.5
Spacing 650 cm between rows, 650 cm between plants
Feed it most with nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, zinc and boron

What it takes to grow lemon in Guji

Planting materialAbout 240 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 46 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 9 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 58 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work102–218 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a lemon crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Soil pH below the crop's optimumSteep slope

Grow Lemon with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Guji as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Lemon in nearby districts

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will lemon grow well in Guji?

Guji rates as favourable for lemon.

When should I plant lemon in Guji?

Typically 29 Jan 2026 to 26 Sep 2026, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Guji, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Guji

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.