How Citrus Growers are Watching and Trialing New Orange Varieties
Orange growers are certainly watching and perhaps trialing new orange varieties in each of Florida’s key maturity windows. Better oranges are needed to feed the state’s processing sector, with a higher sense of urgency for early/mid-season varieties. Florida long maintained a relative balance between early/mid- and late-maturing oranges, but superior horticultural performance with HLB certainly has more growers talking about planting late-season orange varieties.
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Such a trend would be of obvious concern to the processing sector, as it would disrupt the balance of supply and asset utilization throughout the citrus season. Packinghouses are being pressured by domestic and international competition and are in need of more convenient and better-quality oranges for fresh consumption throughout the entire season.
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‘Orri’ mandarin is a hybrid selected from irradiated budwood after a series of crossings originating from Temple tangor and ‘Kinnow’ mandarin oranges.
Photo by Peter Chaires
The status of the ‘Orri’ mandarin permeated 2020 coffee shop talk among specialty citrus fruit growers. It was widely known that the patent had expired, and it was uncertain whether ‘Orri’ would become public domain or continue forward as a managed variety. Though growers continue to commit resources to trialing new experimental selections and hone their production practices with recently released Florida varieties, many are interested in planting specialty varieties with production and marketability track records in the near-term. The ‘Orri’ mandarin is one of the varieties that is getting increased attention.