Historical journey and challenges of the Korean citrus industry

Citrus cultivation has a long history in Jeju, dating back to before the 11^th century.
Before the 1900s, citrus was managed as a tribute by local or central government based on landrace species.
Satsuma mandarin was introduced from Japan into Jeju, Korea 1911, and modernized citrus orchards began in the 1960s.
A protected production system under plastic film houses was introduced in the late 1980s, and a soil mulching production system with Tyvex sheets was introduced in the mid-1990s to supply fruits with highly soluble solids.
Since the early 2000s, cultivation area and production amount have decreased under policy support to manage the fruit supply and growerRSQUOs income.
Currently, citrus is the second largest fruit after apples in Korea and has contributed significantly to the growth of the local and national economy.
However, the industry is not without its challenges.
Climate changes, labor shortages, and rising prices of agricultural materials have become important issues in the production sector.
Furthermore, competition with other fruits is intensifying in the consumer market.
Therefore, the new release of elite cultivars and the development of advanced labor-saving techniques are essential to sustain the citrus industry.
These measures are related to tree shape transformation, fruit quality improvement, and cost-saving and yield-constant production.
These goals require integrating basic techniques with advanced omics techniques, such as genomics, and agricultural digitalization techniques, such as artificial intelligence.
All these issues have become challenges to sustain the Korean citrus industry more profitably in the future.

XV International Citrus Congress

K.J. Song

cultivation, history, Jeju, production, prospect

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2026.1448.1