- Author: Therese Kapaun
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.
- Author: Therese Kapaun
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.
- Author: Elizabeth E Grafton-Cardwell
The Lindcove Fruit Display and Tasting event last weekend was a big hit both with the growers and the general public. If you missed it, mark your calendar for Dec 13 (growers) and Dec 14 (homeowners) for 2013. We had over 100 varieties of citrus to taste and enjoy plus many educational moments with Lindcove staff, Cooperative Extension Advisors, UC Master Gardeners, and Faculty from UC Riverside.
- Author: Therese Kapaun
Early season navel oranges command high prices in the export market, and Fukumoto navels are a prized commodity in the San Joaquin Valley. The Fukumoto harvest generally follows the satsuma and clementine harvests, although this variety of navel hangs well on the tree into February. Fukumotos have a characteristic deep orange color, superb flavor, and smooth texture, which earns them a top spot in early season exports. Dr. Mikeal Roose (UC Riverside) is studying the yield, canopy size, and fruit quality of Fukumotos on various the rootstocks. The technician shown in the lower picture is using a digital caliper to measure rind thickness. The caliper is connected to a computer with Microsoft Excel and the push of a button records the value and moves the cursor to the next cell in the spreadsheet.
- Author: Therese Kapaun
This week the packline grader is getting a test run and color check to ensure "what you see is what you get" on the packline output. Five projects are scheduled to use the packline grader between now and the end of the year, with an estimated 458 packline runs. For research purposes, a packline run is all the fruit from one tree run together as one lot. Data from the each tree lot can be analyzed separately. In this photo Senior Agricultural Technician Jose Hernandez places Fukumoto navel oranges by hand onto the grader line, the fruit then passes through the grader, and each piece of fruit is retrieved at the other end to be scrutinized for how well the grader recorded the actual colors on each piece. The grader takes 30 pictures of each piece of fruit as it rotates along the belt, and the data output reports each of ten colors as a percentage of the total.