Choosing Citrus Varieties for Your Orchard
When preparing land to place a new citrus orange or lemon orchard big or small or simply a restructure (graft) you have to be aware of the market tendencies of each and every citrus orange or lemon variety.
New citrus varieties are always appearing to conquer their share in the market and then soon enough the end buyer simply does not accept this variety for one reason or another and your orchard becomes worthless if you had previously decided on this variety.
There era endless cases in which citrus orange or lemon growers plant the latest varieties available aiming for high profitability because it´s the latest thing and then find out this new variety falls into un-acceptance.
The citrus grower then, due to the low revenue, grafts the trees to a more sell-able variety or even pulls them out and plants a marketable variety and loses three to five years of revenue until the new grafts or the again new orchard starts producing.
Aiming for sellable and well established orange or lemon varieties is your best bet if you are fairly new on this constantly changing field.
I had a particular variety cut down because for five running straight years I was getting low prices on the market and then the next year all of a sudden due to unknown factors in the fruit market the price per kilo of this variety was very appealing.
Established Citrus Varieties
Naveline
Fruit: Medium to large, spherical form to egg shape, small navel, seedless. Red-Orange color with semi thin skin, medium textured pulp, good flavor. Maturation Oct-Feb.
Tree: Not to vigorous, characteristically small leaves that are dark green but productive tree.
Newhall
Fruit: Medium to large, spherical form to egg shape (160g-300g), small to medium navel, seedless. Red-Orange color with semi thin skin, medium textured pulp, excellent for juicing, excellent flavor. Maturation Oct-Feb.
Tree: Medium vigorous tree, characteristically dense leaves that are dark green but highly fast productive tree.
Lane Late
Fruit: large, spherical form (160g-300g), small navel, seedless. Red-Orange color with semi thin skin, medium textured pulp, excellent for juicing with an excellent flavor. Maturation March and can stay on the tree until June.
Tree: Medium vigorous tree, characteristically rounded foliage, dense leaves that are dark green but highly fast productive tree.
Valencia Late (Delta)
Fruit: Medium to big (150g-200g), very round and spherical orange with no navel, seedless with a good orange color. The skin is thin and easy to peel. A great juicer. Maturation starts on April and can stay on the tree until September, though the fruit can turn back to a greenish tint when left for a late harvest.
Tree: Medium vigorous tree, characteristically rounded foliage, dense leaves that are dark green but highly fast productive tree that can grow big.
Tangerines
Okitsu
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Fruit: Good size, thin skin, easy to peel and seedless.
Tree: Highly vigorous tree compared to other tangerine varieties, characteristically rounded foliage, dense leaves that are dark green but highly fast productive tree that produces fruit in grape like bunches.
Encore
Fruit: Medium size and well distributed around the tree, flattened fruit that has a very peelable skin. Very tasty fruit, orange color skin that turns to red with maturation. Has got a few seeds. Fruits produced in the shadow are redder that those exposed to sun. A good juicing tangerine. The longer they stay on the tree the sweeter they get.
Tree: Highly vigorous tree, characteristically erect growing tree, narrow leaves that are light to dark green but highly fast productive tree.
Fortuna
Fruit: Medium size and well distributed around the tree, rounded fruit that has a very peelable skin. Very tasty fruit, orange color skin that turns to red with maturation. Usually seedless. The longer they stay on the tree the sweeter they get and can stay long on the tree.
Tree: Highly vigorous tree, characteristically erect growing tree, leaves that are dark green but a highly fast productive tree.
Lemons
Eureka
Fruit: Medium small, oblong with small neck and a nipple. Can come with seeds and sometimes its seedless, skin is medium sized thickness and the taste is very acidic.
Tree: Vigorous medium sized tree with little spines and with a tendency for terminal fructification.
Lunario
Fruit: Medium to small, oblong with small neck and a nipple. Can come with seeds and sometimes its seedless, skin is medium sized thickness and the taste is moderately acidic and sometimes not too juicy.
Tree: Vigorous medium sized tree and highly productive with little or no spines and with a tendency for terminal fructification.
