- Author: Bonnie Brown
Ventura County Master Gardener
A blind lemonade and orange juice taste-testing trial was incorporated into a recent citrus grower workshop in Santa Paula. The topic of the meeting was lemon rootstocks and scions and the attendees were for the most part lemon growers. This seemed like an opportune time during the refreshment portion of the workshop to see what commercial lemonade and orange juices these professional growers might prefer. This would be an unreplicated trial, since it was only this one time with a small set of tasters, but might be give a sense of what citrus farmers prefer as their juice.
Four different orange juice brands and four different lemonade brands were chosen based on a range of prices. Two tables, one with lemonades and the other with orange juices, were divided into four sections labeled with Roman numerals, 1-4. A small amount of each juice was provided to the tasters in unmarked cups. The testers ranked their preferences on a grid with an 'A' though 'D' ranking beneath the corresponding Roman numeral label. “A” being the preferred juice and “D” being the least preferred. A paper label on the juice container temporarily concealed the juice's actual identity.
In this small,unreplicated trial, the most expensive juices did not have the greatest number of taster votes. None of the tasters expressed negative opinions about any of the juices, but there were definite preferences as can be seen by the tally. There's no accounting for growers' tastes, maybe.
ORANGE JUICE RESULTS, in order of preference:
Trader Joe's fresh squeezed orange juice; 16 votes; 8.6 cents/oz.
Walmart store brand; 6 votes; 3.5 cents/oz.
Tropicana Original; 5 votes; 5.5 cents/oz.
Simply Orange with pulp; 3 votes; 9.0 cents/oz.
LEMONADE RESULTS:
Simply Lemonade; 12 votes; 5.8 cents/oz.
Tropicana Lemonade; 10 votes; 6.8 cents/oz.
Minute Maid Lemonade; 5 votes; 2.3 cents/oz.
Newman's Own Virgin Lemonade; 3 votes; 5.6 cents/oz.
We thank all who were involved in this survey and to the five Master Gardeners who have been involved in not only the organization of this tasting, but also the grower meeting and help in harvesting some of the lemon trials that were reported on at this meeting.
- Author: Sean Nealon
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) — The University of California, Riverside will host the 5th annual citrus field day for citrus growers and citrus industry professionals on Jan. 27 at the university's agricultural operations fields.
The event, which will includes a mix of presentations and field tours, is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Advance registration, which is $25, is required. The deadline is Jan. 22. There will be no day-of-event registration available.
To register visit: https://form.jotform.com/53556635957975. For more information call 951-827-5906.
The following is a tentative schedule for the event:
- 8 a.m. – Introductions by Peggy Mauk, director of agricultural operations at UC Riverside and a subtropical horticulture extension specialist, and Tracy Kahn, curators of UC Riverside's Citrus Variety Collection.
- 8:10 a.m. – Welcomes from Kathryn Uhrich, dean of UC Riverside's College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and Michael Anderson, a divisional dean for agriculture and natural resources.
- 8:30 a.m. – Minimizing the potential for nurseries to contribute to Asian citrus psyllid spread in California – Matt Daugherty, a cooperative extension specialist, entomology. To minimize the potential for nurseries to contribute to Asian citrus psyllid and huanglongbing spread, as occurred in Florida, regulations are in place in California that restrict movement of containerized citrus and require specific insecticide treatments. Daughterty's is evaluating how well such steps reduce the risk of human-mediated Asian citrus psyllid spread. He is using a combination of monitoring in nurseries, field experiments on chemical control efficacy, and characterization of the effects of nursery practices on psyllid management.
- 9:15 a.m. – Microbiota-based approach to citrus tree health – Philippe Rolshausen, cooperative extension specialist, subtropical horticulture. He will talk about how bacteria, fungi and viruses associated with the plant, either on its surface or inside, can affect plant health and productivity. He will demonstrate how these organisms can be used for disease control. He will use Pierce's Disease found in grapevines as an example and also draw a comparison with Huanglongbing found in citrus.
- 9:45 a.m. – Low seeded citrus – variation in seed content and its causes – Mikeal Roose, professor, botany and plant sciences. Roose specializes in plant breeding, particularly with citrus.
- 10:30 a.m. – Break
- 11 a.m. – Novel detection methods for Huanglongbing – Wenbo Ma, associate professor, plant pathology. Her research is focused on developing methods that detect Huanglongbing by monitoring so-called “effectors” secreted from the bacterial pathogens causing the disease.
- 12 p.m. – Lunch (catered by Anchos Southwest Grill)
- 1 p.m. – Pesticide safety training – Vince Samons, UC Riverside agricultural operations.
- 1:45 p.m. – Walk-thru of the Citrus Variety Collection, Rootstock Trial and Phytophthora root rot trial.
To make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citrus Variety Collection Endowment fund or the Citrus Research Center & Agricultural Experiment Station support fund go to the following link and select College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences then select the specific fund: https://advancementservices.ucr.edu/GivingForm.aspx
- Author: Ben Faber
Date: December 13, 2013
Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Contact: Anita Hunt
Sponsor: Lindcove Research & Extension Center
Location: 22963 Carson Ave, Exeter, CA 93221, USA
Citrus growers and other Ag professionals are invited to attend the University of California, Lindcove Research and Extension Center Annual Citrus Fruit Display and Tasting on Friday December 13th starting at 9:00 A.M. During the Citrus Fruit Display day, you can see and taste more than 100 citrus varieties that are grown at Lindcove.
Education Building Activities 9 am - Noon
•Taste fruit at your leisure
Walking tour starts at 10 am
•Tour the Citrus Clonal Protection facilities that produce budwood with Dr. Georgios Vidalakis.
•View the action of the new fruit grading system in the packline that provides researchers with detailed information about fruit size, weight and quality demonstrated by Don Cleek
•Tour the demonstration orchard with Dr. Tracy Kahn who will discuss new citrus varieties
Directions: Take Highway 198 east to Mehrten Drive (approximately 15 miles) and follow the signs to our Event. The University of Lindcove Research and Extension Center is located at 22963 Carson Avenue Exeter, CA. The Education Building is located at the end of Carson Avenue. If you have any questions please contact Anita Hunt at 559-592-2408 Ext 151.