Author Topic: Meiwa Kumquat fruit have no joice  (Read 3215 times)

00christian00

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 317
    • Italy, Zone 9a
    • View Profile
Meiwa Kumquat fruit have no joice
« on: May 31, 2017, 10:54:15 AM »
Hello,
Today I just bought a Meiwa tree and to my surprise the fruit was 4-5cm and completely juiceless.
Literally squishing the fruit all I could get is half a drop of juice. Is this normal?
Yes the fruit was sweeter than normal kumquat but mostly because it had almost no pulp inside, it looked like I was eating only the peel.
Not a pleasant experience at all.
Is this normal? Is it because it didn't ripen fully ? The fruit was already orange like a regular kumquat, maybe little lighter.
Is there any way to distinguish it from Fortunella Japonica?


00christian00

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 317
    • Italy, Zone 9a
    • View Profile
Re: Meiwa Kumquat fruit have no joice
« Reply #1 on: May 31, 2017, 05:44:46 PM »
This is the inside of my fruit. I can't even see the flesh.
Was it overripe or underripe? Problem with the fertilization?
This was orange with some slightly green tint, but tasted at all different ripeness and were all the same. The only one that seemed to have a couple of drops of juice was an almost totally green one half the size of the others.

« Last Edit: May 31, 2017, 05:46:50 PM by 00christian00 »

Citradia

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 958
    • USA/NC/Old Fort/6B
    • View Profile
Re: Meiwa Kumquat fruit have no joice
« Reply #2 on: May 31, 2017, 07:35:06 PM »
My Meiwa are not really juicy either. The "Hardy Citrus for the Southeast " book by Tom McClendon says about Meiwa, "with a tender peel and very little juice." We eat Meiwa for the sweetness of the peel. I think of them as citrus gum balls. The only weird thing I find about eating the kumquat is chewing up the seeds, otherwise I find the Meiwa quite enjoyable. Maybe your fruit got some frost damage that caused the pulp inside to shrivel. I noticed one of my grapefruit had dry shriveled pulp that was dry after freeze damage.

00christian00

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 317
    • Italy, Zone 9a
    • View Profile
Re: Meiwa Kumquat fruit have no joice
« Reply #3 on: June 01, 2017, 01:30:36 AM »
My Meiwa are not really juicy either. The "Hardy Citrus for the Southeast " book by Tom McClendon says about Meiwa, "with a tender peel and very little juice." We eat Meiwa for the sweetness of the peel. I think of them as citrus gum balls. The only weird thing I find about eating the kumquat is chewing up the seeds, otherwise I find the Meiwa quite enjoyable. Maybe your fruit got some frost damage that caused the pulp inside to shrivel. I noticed one of my grapefruit had dry shriveled pulp that was dry after freeze damage.
Well I could tolerate little juice, but no juice at all and dry pulp make it an unpleasant experience very dry in the mouth.
Even an apple it's not a fruit that you would think of juice when eating it, but if it was completely dry it would ruin the flavor.
Had the same idea about frost, but seemed strange since it was from a nursery specialized in citrus.
Maybe since it is hardy it was kept outdoor to save space for other plants, who knows.

Viking Guy

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 787
  • AKME Gardens
    • USA, AL, Silverhill, 8B
    • View Profile
    • AKME Gardens Website
Re: Meiwa Kumquat fruit have no joice
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2017, 02:25:09 AM »
Sounds over ripe.

They tend to latch on to the tree longer than their prime.

They've been juicy for me, and I'm getting them earlier in most cases.

bsbullie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9621
    • USA, Boynton Beach, FL 33472, Zone 10a
    • View Profile
Re: Meiwa Kumquat fruit have no joice
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2017, 07:09:18 AM »
This is the inside of my fruit. I can't even see the flesh.
Was it overripe or underripe? Problem with the fertilization?
This was orange with some slightly green tint, but tasted at all different ripeness and were all the same. The only one that seemed to have a couple of drops of juice was an almost totally green one half the size of the others.


They are not a really juicy fruit but that looks overly pithy.

It may have been pumped with too much nitrogen.   Citrus growers do that here to make the tree look perfect for selling but the fruit that first year is useless.  It could also be a ph issue and the llant needing some sulfur.
- Rob

Millet

  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4798
    • Colorado
    • View Profile
Re: Meiwa Kumquat fruit have no joice
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2017, 12:31:23 PM »
Very young citrus trees, don't produce great fruit.  Give the tree some time and the fruit should improve.

00christian00

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 317
    • Italy, Zone 9a
    • View Profile
Re: Meiwa Kumquat fruit have no joice
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2017, 03:02:13 PM »
I think bsbullie may be on the right track as the tree had very green and shiny leaves that looked almost fake.
I will give it some years to settle, but since I am not sure it will improve I took the chance to approach graft some small plants I bought from the same seller, keeping some branches of Meiwa.