Author Topic: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges  (Read 10675 times)

fyliu

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #25 on: January 29, 2019, 03:24:48 AM »
I remember my friend harvested her Shiranui that fruited the same year it's grafted. Maybe I talked about it above already. I remember she brought it to a T-budding demo I did for the local CRFG chapter. It was still not ready in early April. The skin was not completely orange, and the taste was kind of bland. So I'm not sure if I'm supposed to wait longer to harvest them like for Gold Nugget.

There's a blemished fruit I need to pick. I hope I remember to take brix readings.

simon_grow

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #26 on: January 30, 2019, 06:21:29 PM »
Hey Fang, a couple branches from my Shiranui grafts broke about 1-2 weeks ago from the heavy weight of the fruit. The fruit was fully colored but I think they could have ripened up more on the tree.

I took a Brix reading and my home grown fruit harvested in January had a Brix reading of 14%. I also bought a couple Dekopon from the supermarket and they also had a Brix reading of 14%.

I have a couple smaller Shiranui hanging on a graft on a different tree so I’ll let these ripen a bit more to see if they get sweeter. They are on different rootstocks however so this may affect the Brix readings.

Simon

beicadad

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #27 on: February 02, 2019, 11:42:35 PM »
Just tested a Sumo from H-mart and I got Brix of 20. Confirmed that it’s calibrated correctly.

fyliu

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #28 on: February 08, 2019, 02:42:17 AM »
Oh man, my mom had an upside-down cluster of 3 large shiranui fruits. This past weekend I went back and they're all off the branch... Apparently, the fruits were so heavy that the rind broke under the weight and the fruits fell off and rooted.

Should we set an amount of time for these to ripen before testing them so that we get kind of consistent conditions? Like 2 weeks or 4 weeks? Or does the brix not change much, only the acidity decreases?

beicadad

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #29 on: February 08, 2019, 09:40:26 PM »
Oh man, my mom had an upside-down cluster of 3 large shiranui fruits. This past weekend I went back and they're all off the branch... Apparently, the fruits were so heavy that the rind broke under the weight and the fruits fell off and rooted.

Should we set an amount of time for these to ripen before testing them so that we get kind of consistent conditions? Like 2 weeks or 4 weeks? Or does the brix not change much, only the acidity decreases?

Sorry to hear. What is the root stock was the shiranui grafted onto? From what I read it’s better to use rigorous rootstock. I also read that the fruits are ready 2-4 momths after fully colored.

fyliu

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #30 on: February 11, 2019, 01:48:24 AM »
Oh man, my mom had an upside-down cluster of 3 large shiranui fruits. This past weekend I went back and they're all off the branch... Apparently, the fruits were so heavy that the rind broke under the weight and the fruits fell off and rooted.

Should we set an amount of time for these to ripen before testing them so that we get kind of consistent conditions? Like 2 weeks or 4 weeks? Or does the brix not change much, only the acidity decreases?

Sorry to hear. What is the root stock was the shiranui grafted onto? From what I read it’s better to use rigorous rootstock. I also read that the fruits are ready 2-4 momths after fully colored.

Grafted onto gold nugget. The graft and rootstock branch are stiff, which is why the fruits are formed upside-down rather than hanging. Next year's will be better.

So have you harvested your fruits or are you letting them hang more? I see them on my tree and I only cut the one off that has dried skin on one side.

simon_grow

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #31 on: February 13, 2019, 09:28:27 AM »
Hey Fang, the acidity definitely decreases as you age the fruit off the tree. I do not believe the sugars increase but I do believe the perceived sweetness increases due to the decrease in acid level which shifts the sugar/acid balance.

I still have the fruit ripening in my garage and I’m positive they will taste better now than they did a couple weeks ago. I also have a few fruit hanging on my tree so I’ll see if the February Fruit is sweeter than the December/January fruit.

Simon

beicadad

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #32 on: February 14, 2019, 09:37:43 PM »
Oh man, my mom had an upside-down cluster of 3 large shiranui fruits. This past weekend I went back and they're all off the branch... Apparently, the fruits were so heavy that the rind broke under the weight and the fruits fell off and rooted.

Should we set an amount of time for these to ripen before testing them so that we get kind of consistent conditions? Like 2 weeks or 4 weeks? Or does the brix not change much, only the acidity decreases?

Sorry to hear. What is the root stock was the shiranui grafted onto? From what I read it’s better to use rigorous rootstock. I also read that the fruits are ready 2-4 momths after fully colored.

Grafted onto gold nugget. The graft and rootstock branch are stiff, which is why the fruits are formed upside-down rather than hanging. Next year's will be better.

So have you harvested your fruits or are you letting them hang more? I see them on my tree and I only cut the one off that has dried skin on one side.

I also grafted shiranui onto my gold nugget. The tree is still young so I didn’t let it fruit. I wonder if the rootstock of a grapefruit or pomelo tree is better for shiranui.


Millet

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #33 on: February 15, 2019, 11:18:06 AM »
Bicadad, here is what U. Of Florida writes about root stocks for satsumas :

Trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifolata (L.) Raf) is the most commonly used rootstock for satsuma mandarins, especially in cool climates where maximum cold tolerance develops. However, in Florida, where the winters can be relatively short and interrupted by brief periods of warm temperatures, trifoliate orange does not provide consistent protection from cold south of Gainesville.

Trifoliate orange grows well on fertile, clay to loamy type soils. It does not develop a very deep or wide-ranging root system and is poorly adapted to saline or calcareous conditions, but its resistance to foot rot, a soil-borne disease, makes it a good choice for soils with poor drainage. Trifoliate orange is susceptible to exocortis, a virus-like disease; blight, a disease whose causal agent is unknown; and the burrowing nematode, with some selections resistant to the citrus nematode. Many selections of P. trifoliata are available, including a dwarfing rootstock named Flying Dragon.

'Swingle' citrumelo is a cross between P. trifoliata and 'Duncan' grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.). 'Carrizo' citrange is a cross between P. trifoliata and Washington Navel (Citrus sinensis L.). Satsumas are often propagated on 'Carrizo' and especially 'Swingle' rootstocks. This is due to the fact that budding and early tree growth are better for satsumas on 'Swingle' compared to P. trifoliata. The performance of satsuma on 'Swingle' or 'Carizzo' rootstocks compared to P. trifoliata has not been adequately compared, although they are believed to be less cold tolerant than when grafted on P. trifoliata. We have observed 'Navel' on 'Carrizo' and 'Owari', and 'Brown Select' on 'Swingle' to withstand 14°F without appreciable cold injury at the North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy, FL, when fully cold acclimated.

simon_grow

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #34 on: February 18, 2019, 06:24:16 PM »
I opened up one of the Shiranui that I harvested about a month ago which has been curing in the garage. The acidity has decreased which brought out more of the sweet flavor. This is a good size fruit and it had a Brix reading of 15%. The curing process definitely made the fruit taste better to my palate. Here are a couple pictures.



Simon

simon_grow

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #35 on: March 03, 2019, 09:14:13 PM »
I just plucked this Shiranui Tangerine from my tree and this March fruit is amazing in flavor and Brix! I took several Brix readings because I couldn’t believe my first reading of 21% Brix. I took three readings from the same fruit and I got, 21, 19 and 17% Brix.

I did not cure this fruit but it tasted fine directly off the tree. It was sweet but had a great acid balance. The acid level was similar to that of a sweet orange. Here’s a picture of the fruit cut open.

Simon

fyliu

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #36 on: March 04, 2019, 12:23:16 AM »
I harvested 1 fruit 1/31, orange colored. Aged 14 days, 20 brix when I opened it. Still pretty acidic but I could tell there's a lot of sugar in it.
2 fruits 1/15, more of a yellowish color. 13 brix right after harvesting. It's much more acidic than the one with 20 brix. I'm aging the twin for 4 week before eating it to see if I can taste a difference. I realize I wouldn't have anything to reference it with by that time.

beicadad

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #37 on: March 04, 2019, 10:15:37 PM »
Simon and Fang, congrats on harvesting amazing fruits!

jim VH

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Re: Brix readings of Mandarins, Tangerines and Oranges
« Reply #38 on: January 16, 2020, 09:56:49 AM »
Brix and acid readings taken January 15th 2020 from a few citrus grown in-ground at my location in the Portland Oregon metropolitan area:


Prague Citsuma    Brix=11.8     acid=2.8%     sugar to acid ratio S/A=4.2

LA Early Satsuma  Brix=10.3    acid=1.4%       S/A=7.3

Miho Satsuma       Brix=13.5    acid=1.5%       S/A=9.0


The LA Early number is lower than the one I got two years ago, but it was also the coolest summer in a decade, with a delayed bloom season, and a cool September.  It's still a good fruit, with a few more sour ones.

The Prague Citsuma is sour, but has good flavor, and some of the fruit are sweetish

The Miho is fantastic, very richly flavored, and is the best Satsuma I've tried to date for the cool climate of the  American Pacific Northwest. 
« Last Edit: January 16, 2020, 10:04:22 AM by jim VH »