Spatiotemporal Variability of Late-Ripening Citrus in Sichuan, China: A Review of Zoned Management Strategies

Late-ripening citrus exhibits considerable spatiotemporal variation in fruit quality, and implementing zoned management is further complicated by the unique biological and ecological characteristics of the Sichuan Basin. This review provides the first integrated climate–purple soil–terrain synthesis of zoned management for late-ripening citrus in the Sichuan Basin, examined across four dimensions: driving mechanisms, technical approaches, methodological evolution, and limitations. First, the causes of spatiotemporal quality variation are clarified by considering three factors: climate, soil, and topography. Secondly, current monitoring, analysis, and zoned management technologies are assessed for suitability in the frequently cloudy and foggy environment, hilly topography, and scattered orchard plots of the Sichuan Basin. Additionally, the methodological evolution from “general fruit tree methods” to “citrus-specific methods” to “Sichuan scenario-adapted methods” is delineated, and five major research gaps are identified: spatiotemporal data fusion, universality of dynamic zoning, multi-factor interactive modeling, economic feasibility evaluation, and technology dissemination. Based on these findings, future research directions are proposed, including multi-source data fusion, dynamic modeling, cross-regional transferability, economic optimization, and lightweight inclusive solutions, to provide systematic research frameworks and methodological references for zoned management of late-ripening citrus in the Sichuan Basin.