- Author: Therese Kapaun
It's harvest time in the San Joaquin Valley for early navel varieties, and the great tasting Fukumoto could also win a navel beauty contest. The Fukumoto variety attains a deep orange peel color, is relatively spherical in shape, and has a smooth rind. Fukumotos reach legal maturity (a minimum score of 90 for the California Standard) in October or November in this region.
The Fukumoto block at LREC was planted in 2005, and has more than 100 trees on each of three rootstocks. Dr. Mikeal Roose (UC Riverside) is studying scion and rootstock compatibility, canopy size, yield, and many fruit quality parameters. The project utilizes the LREC packline for size, color, yield, and granulation data, and the LREC fruit quality laboratory for texture, °Brix, percent juice, and rind thickness data.
Come taste the fabulous Fukumoto navel later this month at Lindcove's Annual Fruit Display and Tasting. Watch this space for more information about the two day event. More information about the Fukumoto navel can be found at http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/fukumoto.html