Citrus > Cold Hardy Citrus
New Citrumelos: Iva Swingle and Dingle
Mulberry0126:
Hi everyone,
I wanted to publish this information on more than just our website/YouTube, this way more people can find out about these varieties. In our recent YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIJXTR71wTA) I presented 4 unique strains of Swingle citrumelo, all of which differed substantially in taste, size, and other fruit characteristics, despite the plants looking extremely similar. This came to my surprise considering Swingle is a highly nucellar variety of citrumelo, and finding off-types is more difficult, not to mention they are usually discarded when being used for rootstock.
'Bishop' (now 'Iva Swingle') citrumelo was the largest strain, while also containing the fewest seeds. It had a rather pleasant flavor, even to my wife who is sensitive to hardy citrus off-flavors. It was comparable to or better than Dunstan which is even more surprising. It also measured a higher brix than Dunstan (12° vs. 7-9°) and was perceivably sweet.
'Dingle' citrumelo was similar in size to standard Swingle, but the fruit were slightly more rounded, and with a deeper yellow color inside and out. The fruit tasted (and looked) somewhat intermediate between Swingle and Dunstan (Dunstan + Swingle = Dingle), despite the tree looking like a Swingle. It had substantially more grapefruit bitterness but it was not completely unpalatable, and it had a rather high brix (13°), and perceivable sweetness which aided in its edibility.
Both of these varieties were discovered by Alan Bishop, hence the name which credits him for this discovery. He also discovered the Bishop citrandarin, which is an improved seedling of US-852. I am grateful he brought these fruit to me to review; I hope both Bishop selections get the attention they deserve. Needless to say, I will be top working my Swingle trees with the 'Iva Swingle' citrumelo. It provides less seeds but the improved size and taste are well worth it.
a_Vivaldi:
Better than Dunstan is encouraging. Did Alan say if these were seedlings or bud mutations?
Is he on this forum?
Great work and many thanks to Alan Bishop for discovering these varieties as well as the Bishop citrandarin, but also to you for putting in the effort to popularize them.
Mulberry0126:
--- Quote from: a_Vivaldi on December 06, 2024, 09:35:49 AM ---Better than Dunstan is encouraging. Did Alan say if these were seedlings or bud mutations?
Is he on this forum?
Great work and many thanks to Alan Bishop for discovering these varieties as well as the Bishop citrandarin, but also to you for putting in the effort to popularize them.
--- End quote ---
Thank you, and yes, he is @hardyvermont.
He wasn't 100% sure if the Bishop citrumelo was a seedling of Swingle or some sort of Pomelo x Poncirus, but seeing photos of the tree, and the leaves and fruit in person helped confirm it was likely a Swingle seedling. The fruit is also uniform throughout the tree from what I could tell.
The Dingle citrumelo originated from a nursery in NC, where it was simply called "citrumelo": http://www.chillypalmtree.com/CITRUMELO.html
mikkel:
Hello,
the Bishop Citrumelo in your video, the one marked as “not Swingle”, looks very similar to a N°82 from the Eisenhut nursery in Switzerland.
The parentage of N°82 is also unknown. The only certainty is that it comes from the citrus grower Bernhard Voss.
The fruit quality is quite good, I would say it is one of the best hybrid varieties.
@flo can certainly give a more detailed description, he has a fruiting tree. I have only been able to try a few fruits.
There is another type, which I call BB Citrumelo. This also comes from Bernhard Voss, but was a mix-up or it is simply the rootstock that has taken over. According to the label, it should be a Morton.
There are a few differences to N°82 but I suspect it could be the same variety.
BB Citrumelo has a mild flavor, not very sour but not sweet either. I'll be sent some more fruit soon and will be able to report back better.
Just to start with, I wonder if “not Swingle” and these two could be connected somehow. In the beginning, Bernhard Voss received many varieties from the US and some plants or seedlings even returned to the US and only get mature there. Carolina Lime, for example, is a seedling he sent to Stan.
mikkel:
BB Citrumelo
the tree
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