Are the sucker branches on my naval orange tree inhibiting my tree's ability to produce it's 1st crop?

Question:

Answers:
Suckers/water shoots are VERY draining on a plants energy.they are in an almost constant growth phase .

You should prune them out this fall when the plant goes into dormancy...the basic rules of pruning are as follows..

1/Cut out the 3 D's..dead..diseased.. shoots fall under this category.so do broken limbs and misshapen limbs)
2/prune plant to shape...open center to allow for good air circulation(cuts down on disease...allows for better growth)
3/removing crossing and competing limbs