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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Citrus and Other Subtropical Products Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #392160
Research Project: Determination of Flavor and Healthful Benefits of Florida-Grown Fruits and Vegetables and Development of Postharvest Treatments to Optimize Shelf Life an Quality for Their Fresh and Processed Products

Location: Citrus and Other Subtropical Products Research

Title: Citrus hybrids tolerant to Huanglongbing for processed orange juice

Author
item Plotto, Anne
item Bai, Jinhe
item Manthey, John
item STOVER, EDDIE - Retired ARS Employee
item Mattia, Matthew
item DRIGGERS, RANDY - Retired ARS Employee
item Sun, Xiuxiu
item BALDWIN, ELIZABETH - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/17/2022
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Citrus greening, or Huanglongbing (HLB) is a devastating disease that affects all cultivated citrus, and has especially devastated Florida citrus, which is largely focused on orange juice production. However, some citrus hybrids have been identified that are more tolerant to the disease than current commercial orange cultivars of Citrus sinsensis. The USDA, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has a unique collection of hybrids, some of which have also shown tolerance to HLB. About fifty hybrids were harvested over a period of 5 years, with some hybrids harvested multiple years and multiple times in a season. Juice was evaluated for sensory quality by a trained panel and juice components were analyzed, including soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), sugars, acids, bitter limonoids, and volatiles. Some hybrids exhibited clear orange flavor, such as ‘US SunDragon’, a recently released cultivar from USDA. Other unnamed hybrids were more mandarin-like, while others such as SugarBelle®, a University of Florida cultivar, were balanced in both orange and mandarin-like flavors. Two low acid, high sugar hybrids tended to have a characteristic fruity flavor with high sweetness. These were selected to for blending with juice from oranges affected by HLB to improve quality as HLB-affected oranges tend to have high acidity and bitterness as well as low sweetness and overall flavor.