24 Jan 2025
Blood orange

Good volume but smaller sizing on California organic citrus

Organic citrus supply is strong right now. “We’re at the heart of the season for the next 90 days–we’re going on all cylinders on all categories,” says Craig Morris, citrus category director for Homegrown Organic Farms. Those citrus categories include Blood oranges, Cara Caras, grapefruit, lemons, mandarins, Navel oranges, and Pomelos. Next month, it will start with Minneolas and Gold Nuggets as well. “From a volume perspective, we’re probably down about 10 percent this year overall and that’s primarily because our size structure is down about ½ to a full size on most commodities. So there are overall boxes lost because of that,” says Morris, adding that this is because it’s been a relatively dry season so far. “Normally, we have a better range of sizes and we’re hoping to make up some ground because we’re a long way from being done.”

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30 Oct 2023
Satsumas easy peeling mandarin citrus

Originating in Japan, Satsumas are an easy-peeling mandarin citrus that is known for its cold-hardiness.

Satsumas are the first mandarins to ripen in Southern Africa, providing an early foot in the door to markets. However, they do come with significant challenges. Citrus Research International (CRI) conducts cultivar trials to evaluate cultivar suitability to various climatic regions. Cultivar ripening windows, production and fruit quality are evaluated over a number of seasons, often spanning eight years. A cultivar trial was established in Citrusdal to evaluate the climatic suitability of this region for Satsuma production. Cultivars Aoshima, Belabela, Imamura, Miho Wase, Miyagawa Wase, Sugiyama and Ueno were imported to SA over time and introduced to the Citrus Improvement Scheme (CIS). These are open cultivars, apart from Belabela which is managed by cultivar agent Citrus Genesis.

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