We planted several sweet orange trees (locally known as 'malta' in India) about a year ago. Over the past few months, some of the trees have sent up a few extremely vigorous shoots (see photo - there are 3 vigorous shoots with lighter colored leaves, while the rest of the branches are lower down and have much darker color leaves). These shoots have grown way beyond the canopy level set by the other branches. The shoots are quite vertical, and have much larger thorns and leaves compared to the other branches.

What should one do with these?

I searched extensively on the web for answers, but have to admit that I have found a mixed bag in terms of suggestions. Based on what I've read it would appear these are water sprouts/shoots. I can confirm that these appear above the graft point. What should be done with these? Should they be allowed to grow, although the way these are growing they are likely to break (some are already drooping significantly and touching/nearly touching the ground) and/or affect the structural integrity of the young tree. Should they be cut back to the canopy level, and then kept in check at this level? If retained in this manner are these shoots likely to produce less fruit (as some sources seem to suggest) when the tree starts bearing fruit? Or should these be pruned all the way back to the trunk or branch they originate from? In which case will I be getting rid of the best growth the tree has witnessed over the past few months? Several sources suggest that citrus typically require very little, if any, pruning in early years.

If such vigorous shoots are generally undesirable, what measures, if any, can one take to lessen the chances of these appearing in the future?