New citrus varieties developed by the UCR Citrus Breeding Program are propagated at Lindcove and planted in the research blocks.  Dr. Mikeal Roose (Dept. of Botany, UCR) heads the project, and pictured here is the newest addition to his team, Dr. Soon Park.  The major objective of the program is to release exciting new citrus varieties of commercial importance to the citrus industry.  Recently the program has released three varieties of low-seeded mandarins, 'DaisySL', 'KinnowLS', and 'FairchildLS'.  Several more low-seeded mandarin varieties are scheduled for release in the near future, including 'EncoreLS' and unnamed selections from low-seeded 'Nova' and 'Fremont'.  On the horizon is the possibility of releasing some selections of lemon and grapefruit.  Many of these newly released varieties will be available for tasting at the upcoming Citrus Showcase sponsored by California Citrus Mutual at the Visalia Convention Center on March 7th.  Hope to see you there.

Last weekend the Sequoia chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers held their annual meeting at Lindcove.  More than 50 people attended the event, which included a potluck lunch and a tour through the Citrus Variety Collection Demonstration Orchard.  The block has 183 varieties available for tasting, and attendees enjoyed strolling through the orchard at a leisurely pace.  New varieties chosen by Dr. Tracy Kahn (UC Riverside) are added to the collection every year.

This week the Entomology Team is in the Fruit Quality Laboratory.  Here they are seen taking fruit measurements from 180 samples of navel oranges from trees that were sprayed at 14 day intervals 0, 6 or 12 times with low rates of narrow range oil.  Frequent applications of oil can help reduce Asian citrus psyllid densities in organic situations.   This trial is examining the effect of these frequent oil applications on fruit quality.   

Pictured here are thousands of slices of satsuma mandarins from one of the Lindcove research blocks.  Dr. Mikeal Roose (UC Riverside) is studying the tree and fruit characteristics of several new satsuma varieties, to determine which ones show promise for commercial production in the San Joaquin Valley.  The study analyzes scion and rootstock compatibility, tree size, fruit yield, and fruit quality.  Satsumas are known for their easy-to-peel rinds, tolerance to cold winters, and as one can see, lack of seeds.