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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Insects and Horticulture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #294017
Title: Varieties from the USDA are the foundation of the Florida specialty citrus industry

Author
item Stover, Eddie

Submitted to: Citrus Industry
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/22/2013
Publication Date: 10/1/2013
Citation: Stover, E.W. 2013. Varieties from the USDA are the foundation of the Florida specialty citrus industry. Citrus Industry Trade Journal. p.16-18. . Citrus Industry.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Florida citrus industry is poised to grow diverse new cultivars from the USDA breeding program, the University of Florida breeding program, and from importation of budwood from new selections from around the world. The top six cultivars of specialty citrus from the USDA (‘Murcott’, ‘Sunburst’, ‘Minneola’, ‘Orlando’, Fallglo’, and ‘Robinson) account for 5.7% of total Florida citrus registered propagations in the last 30 years and comprise the vast majority of the Florida specialty citrus acreage, with more than 7.4 million trees produced. Over the last three decades, ‘Murcott’ is about 28% of all specialty citrus planted and has been of consistent interest, ranging from 21-38% of specialty citrus planted in each of the three decades. ‘Sunburst’ and ‘Minneola’ have also shown consistent interest, ranging from 10-22% of specialty plantings in each decade. In contrast, ‘Orlando’ and ‘Robinson’ have declined greatly with each passing decade, reflecting changes in consumer demands. The last ten years have shown citrus growers reaching out for cultivars that might help sustain market share. Old stand-bys ‘Ponkan’ and ‘Satsuma’ have comprised 4 and 8% of specialty crop plantings (respectively), as super easy-peel varieties with known benefits but also known problems. The Florida specialty citrus industry is suddenly hungry for new varieties, with ‘Orri’ (low seeded ‘Temple’ x ‘Dancy’ from Israel), ‘W. Murcott’ (‘Murcott’ seedling from Morocco), ‘Tango’ (from the University of California and is low-seeded ‘W. Murcott’), ‘U.S. Early Pride’ (from USDA and is low-seeded ‘Fallglo’), and ‘Sugar Belle’ (from the University of Florida) receiving considerable interest in the last few years. Citrus breeding programs seem to be on overdrive, with a wide range of new and exciting material in evaluation. Through cooperation with Florida citrus growers under the mandate of the New Varieties Development and Management Corporation, procedures are in place for more rapid evaluation in multiple sites so that new varieties reach the grove and consumers much more quickly. Keep your eyes open for a steady stream of new specialty varieties.