Balaji
An improved acid-lime selection with good yield and fruit quality for commercial orchards.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Lemon & Lime
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant)
- Expected yield
- About 13.8 t/ha in a Karnataka trial
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Moderate
- Release
- Selected as a pure line at the Citrus Research Station, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh; the release year is not published
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Balaji is an acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia) selected as a pure line at the Citrus Research Station, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. It is the leading acid lime in the state, grown on about 35% of Andhra Pradesh's acid-lime area. The fruit is round and smooth, and turns yellow when fully ripe, with about 47% juice, 6–7 °Brix, 6.8–7% acidity and 25–27 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of juice. In a 2025 Karnataka trial of nine varieties it gave about 13.8 t/ha from 512 fruits a plant of about 32 g each, behind Vikram.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Balaji if you farm in Andhra Pradesh or a similar climate and want the acid lime that most farmers there already plant, so nurseries stock it and buyers know the fruit. It is a Citrus Research Station, Tirupati, selection with round, smooth fruit and 6–7 °Brix. In a 2025 Karnataka trial it gave about 13.8 t/ha, behind Vikram (18.84 t/ha) and ahead of Sai Sharbati (9.84 t/ha). Reports call it canker tolerant, but no acid lime is fully resistant. Choose Vikram for the highest trial yield and Pramalini for a taller, lighter-fruited tree.
Sowing & cultivation
- Spacing5–6 m between trees, in pits of 75 × 75 × 75 cm (TNAU, acid-lime guide)
- IrrigationWater well after planting, then every 7–10 days once established; avoid waterlogging (TNAU)
- FertilizerPer tree: first year 10 kg farmyard manure, 200 g N, 100 g P2O5, 100 g K2O; from the sixth year 30 kg, 600 g, 200 g, 300 g. N in two doses, March and October (TNAU, general acid lime)
- HarvestingBearing begins in the third year after planting (TNAU, acid lime)
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- Reports call Balaji canker-tolerant, but an ICAR-CCRI trial found no acid lime fully resistant to canker, so keep the copper and streptocycline spray routine
- It is mostly proven in Andhra Pradesh, so try a small block first in other states
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Andhra Pradesh
Feed by tree age, as TNAU gives it
TNAU's acid-lime schedule starts small and grows with the tree. In the first year, give each tree 10 kg of farmyard manure, 200 g of N, 100 g of P2O5 and 100 g of K2O. Each year after that it rises by 5 kg of manure, 100 g of N, 25 g of P2O5 and 40 g of K2O.
From the sixth year the dose is 30 kg of manure, 600 g of N, 200 g of P2O5 and 300 g of K2O per tree. Give N in two doses, in March and October, and the manure, P and K in October. Spray 0.5% zinc sulphate on the new flush in March, July and October.
This is a general acid-lime schedule, not a Balaji trial, so ask your KVK to adjust it for your soil test. Write each tree's age on a tag or in a notebook, because feeding a six-year-old tree like a one-year-old is the usual way to lose fruit.
Where the planting material comes from
This variety is budded onto a rootstock, not grown from seed. Seed out of its fruit will not come up as this variety, so it cannot be kept as seed. Buy budded plants from a registered nursery or a government farm, so the plant is true to the variety and free of disease.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Lemon & Lime variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assam Lemon (Kaji Nemu) | GI-tagged aromatic Assam lemon, large near-seedless fruit | Bearing from year 3–4 (grafted plant) | 100–130 q/ha at full bearing | Assam |
| Balajithis page | Leading Andhra Pradesh acid lime, round smooth juicy fruit | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | About 13.8 t/ha in a Karnataka trial | Andhra Pradesh |
| Eureka (lemon) | True thornless lemon with tender, sour, mostly seedless fruit | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | Medium | Maharashtra |
| Kagzi Kalan | True lemon bearing twice a year, for fresh and juice use | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | Medium–high | West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh |
| Lisbon (lemon) | Clean-looking international true lemon, unproven yield in India | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | Medium | Maharashtra |
| Pant Lemon 1 | University-selected lemon from Kagzi Kalan for the Tarai belt | Bearing from year 3–4 (grafted plant) | 150–180 q/ha at full bearing | Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab |
| Pramalini (Kagzi lime) | Tall, many-fruited acid lime with mid-range trial yield | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | About 12.5 t/ha in a Karnataka trial | Andhra Pradesh |
| Sai Sharbati | Private-nursery acid lime with larger, very tart fruit | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | About 9.8 t/ha in a Karnataka trial | Andhra Pradesh |
| Vikram (Kagzi lime) | Best-yielding acid lime in recent trials, with long shelf life | Bearing from year 3–4 (grafted plant) | 120–150 q/ha at full bearing | Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Lemon & Lime is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Lemon & Lime plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Lemon & Lime variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Lemon & Lime into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Lemon & Lime rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Lemon & Lime seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Where was Balaji lemon developed?
At the Citrus Research Station, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, as a pure-line selection of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia).
How dominant is Balaji in Andhra Pradesh?
It is very popular, occupying roughly 35% of the state's total acid-lime growing area — the leading cultivar in the region.
Is Balaji resistant to canker?
Reports describe it as canker-tolerant or canker-resistant. An ICAR-CCRI trial found no acid lime fully resistant, so keep a spray routine: copper oxychloride after pruning, then monthly streptocycline with copper in wet weather, as TNAU advises.
What does the fruit look like and taste like?
Spherical and smooth, turning attractive yellow when fully ripe, with 47% juice content, 6–7°Brix sweetness and 6.8–7% acidity — a well-rounded juice-quality profile among evaluated acid-lime cultivars.
How much fruit does a Balaji lime tree yield?
Reported at 3,000–5,000 fruits per tree annually at 40–50 g each, in line with the "High" yield rating.
What spacing and pit size does TNAU give for acid lime?
TNAU's general acid-lime guide gives 5–6 m between trees in pits of 75 × 75 × 75 cm. This is a crop-level figure, not a Balaji trial, so follow your KVK if it gives a different spacing for your area.
How much manure and fertiliser should each tree get?
TNAU's acid-lime schedule starts at 10 kg of farmyard manure, 200 g of N, 100 g of P2O5 and 100 g of K2O per tree in the first year. From the sixth year it is 30 kg, 600 g, 200 g and 300 g. Give N in two doses, March and October.
When does a Balaji plant start to fruit?
TNAU says acid lime begins bearing in the third year after planting. No Balaji-only figure is published, so count from planting a grafted plant and do not plan income before the third year.
Balaji or Vikram?
In the Karnataka trial Vikram gave 18.84 t/ha and Balaji about 13.8 t/ha. Balaji is the proven choice in Andhra Pradesh, on about 35% of the state's acid-lime area. Pick Vikram if you farm in Maharashtra or Karnataka, Balaji if you farm in Andhra Pradesh.
How often should I irrigate an established tree?
TNAU advises watering well after planting and then every 7–10 days once the tree is established, avoiding waterlogging. In a wet spell, cut back and check that water does not stand around the trunk.
Sourced from: TNAU Agritech Portal — Acid lime. editorial policy.