Question
I have a Washington navel, planted in the ground about 5 years ago.  It is still small and I only get a few oranges per year.  This last year some of the new branches grew about 2 feet long!  One problem.  The new leaves are curling up.  I don't see any pests except ants.  Should I spray?

Answer
Sounds like aphids. These are soft bodied insects that suck the juice from the leaves causing the leaves to curl. They produce a sticky substance called honeydew. The leaves should be sticky. The ants use the aphids to produce the honeydew and then feed the honeydew to the ants young. Control the aphids and the ants will go away. Check with your local nursery/garden type store and get an insecticide for aphids.

A "standard" manual pruning for navel oranges does not exist, but the closest thing to it is a procedure that involves pruning from the tree; (1. shaded, dead branches (2. branches which cross from one side of the tree to the other and (3. green, triangular, juvenile shoots from the tree. This type of pruning commonly goes under the name of "deadbrushing."

Deadbrushing is a relatively light form of pruning.,