When to plant Mandarin in Quimbele

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Mandarin

Uíge, Angola

Known here as tangerina

The mandarin (also called tangerine or naartjie) is the hardiest and easiest-to-peel of the citrus trees — a small, spreading evergreen that lives and bears fruit for decades.

Mandarin in Quimbele, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure Rain-fed With irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant (establish) 22 Aug 2026 – 18 Mar 2027 open now 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027
Expected harvest about 17.1 t/ha about 29.6 t/ha
Work it takes 91–203 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 12 Jan 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Quimbele leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.

Planting after 18 Mar 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Quimbele

Rain and temperature 96%
The soil 76%
The lie of the land 45%

For mandarin in Quimbele, 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 2026/27 season in Quimbele

When the rains are expectedSeptember 2026 to June 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 1,345 mm
This season's rainLeaning dry — September, October, November and December look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early.
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +1.5 °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 a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 76% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
76% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 300 growing days · about 1,390 mm · September to June
23% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 299 growing days · about 1,320 mm · September to June

last updated 16 September 2026

What mandarin 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 550 cm between rows, 550 cm between plants
Feed it most with nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, zinc and boron

What it takes to grow mandarin in Quimbele

Planting materialAbout 340 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 34 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 7 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 43 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 work91–203 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a mandarin 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

Pest/disease risk — manageableSoil pH outside the crop's rangeCorrect soil pH (lime)

Grow Mandarin with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Quimbele 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

Mandarin 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 mandarin grow well in Quimbele?

Quimbele rates as favourable for mandarin.

When should I plant mandarin in Quimbele?

Typically 22 Aug 2026 to 18 Mar 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Quimbele, 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 Quimbele

Keep going

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