Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 20.3.
Characteristics of principal lemon varieties.
Variety
Distribution
Tree
Fruit
Pulp
Berna
(Vernia, Bernia,
Ve r n a )
California
Holds on tree into summer, but
becomes large and loses
quality in winter
Dorshapo
(Citro Doux is
similar)
California
Like Eureka, but less
productive
Sweet lemon; like Eureka, but
more ribbed and with more
prominent nipple
Amber yellow,
insipid, lacking
in acid and flavor
Eureka
Southern
coastal
California
Smallest lemon tree,
thornless with few
leaves; less
cold-resistant,
more everbearing
Oval, less pronounced stylar
end; medium-small with few
seeds; mostly spring and
early summer, but some in
late winter
Greenish yellow,
juicy, highly acid
Lisbon
California
Very vigorous, with
many thorns;
dense foliage
Oval to round, more
pronounced stylar end
furrow point; winter and
spring
Greenish yellow
and very acid
Villafranca
Southern
California
Between Eureka and
Lisbon in
hardness and size
Similar to Eureka; winter and
early spring
Sources: Adapted from Halpin (1982); Goodrich (2003).
'Eureka' variety is the most widely grown lemon vari-
ety, forming a major part of the crop in California, Aus-
tralia, South Africa, and Israel and a significant proportion
of Argentina's production. It is believed to be the oldest
commercial variety but is being replaced by the 'Lisbon'
variety (Kimball et al., 2005). Recently South Africa devel-
oped the world's first seedless lemon, called Eureka Seed-
less Lemon
TM
. The rind of Eureka lemons is medium to
thin, and the fruit has high juice content with high acid
levels. This fruit is harvested in mid-February to mid-July
(hot areas) and mid-March to mid-August (cool, inland
areas) (CAPESPAN, 2010). Some varieties, like the costal
lemons in California and Arizona, are available all year long
(Carter, 1993).
The small-fruited acid lime (
Citrus aurantifolia
Swingle)
is the predominant type in the world. The other two va-
rieties of lime are outlined in Table 20.4. The 'Sweet'
lime is widely consumed in India, the Middle East, and
Latin America, where it is also used for medicinal purposes
(Goodrich, 2003).
early as possible and are naturally cured in transit (Morton,
1987a). There are four color grades in California: tree ripe
yellow; silver (yellow-green); light green; and dark green
(in this case, fruit can be selectively picked for size and
color depending on market requirements). Generally, fruits
are hand-picked using the twist, tilt, and snap method after
the fruits reach 25% juice content (Morton, 1987a; Hardy,
2004). Mechanical picking is impossible with lemons as the
fruit is highly susceptible to oil spotting (oleocellosis) and
cannot be handled roughly (Morton, 1987a). Furthermore,
fruits are not harvested in cold (
35
◦
C)
conditions or when wet and turgid as oleocellosis is likely
to develop. Oleocellosis develops when the oil glands rup-
ture and the oil burns the fruit surface within 2-3 days.
Lemons are particularly susceptible to rind damage when
they are picked green as they are more turgid (Hardy, 2004).
Limes are harvested when fully developed but still green
(Thompson, 2003); the optimum harvest time is when the
skin is smooth and the rind turns from dark to pale green
(Murata, 1997; Thompson, 2003). The fruits are harvested
by hand and various prestorage treatments may be ap-
plied in the packinghouse for cool storage or the fruits
may be directly marketed. In many countries, including the
United States, consumers prefer green limes for consump-
tion (Arpaia and Kader, 2000; Kluge et al., 2003; Ladaniya,
13
◦
C) or hot (
<
>
Harvesting
Lemons can be harvested either when fully colored, at the
silver (yellow-green) stage, or when green if being de-
greened using ethylene. Italian lemons are harvested as
Search WWH ::
Custom Search