News in brief - Citrogold

March 2012 INSIDE: New Varieties • Results of Scientific Research • Grower tour to Australia 2012
Delegates of the Israeli Tour Group
11 South African growers and nurserymen
visited Israel In February 2012. The South
African group was comprised of members
from Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern and
Western Cape provinces
The visit focussed on Israeli mandarin
production. Growers were able to see the
techniques that are employed by Israeli
growers to manage the Or and Mor
mandarin.
The Israeli Citrus Industry has expanded its
Or mandarin plantings from 1000 ha in
2003 to close to 3400 ha's in 2011.
The group was also afforded the
opportunity to see an exciting range of
new Israeli mandarin selections that are
currently under evaluation in South Africa.
Citrogold en Du Roi Kwekery het 'n
Sonet Mandaryn Velddag gehou op
die 22 Maart in Groblersdal.
Die varieteit vertoon baie goed in die
Noorde vanjaar.
Alpha Valencia - allowing growers to
achieve Midknight standards in an earlier timeslot
This exceptional, early maturing, medium sized, seedless valencia will
enable growers to achieve excellent pack-outs with an early maturing
Midknight quality product.
The variety has performed well in all evaluation sites which have been
established in several valencia growing regions of South Africa including the
Western and Northern Cape. The variety has been under experimental and
semi - commercial evaluation by Citrogold for the past 10 years.
The variety is owned by Croc. Valley Estates and is protected by a Plant
Breeders Right registration in South Africa.
The variety allows growers to
spread their "Midknight"
picking window and
affords the grower
more time to
achieve exportable
good internal
quality standards.
Citrogold believes
that the variety will make a significant impact on the profitability of growers
farming with valencias.
Click here for the Alpha Valencia Spec Sheet
Hierdie besondere, vroeg-rypwordende, medium grootte en pitlose Valencia
stel produsente in staat om uitstekende uitpakke te bereik met 'n vroeë
Midknight kwaliteit produk.
Die Alpha presteer goed in alle evaluering terreine wat in verskeie valencia
groeiende streke van Suid-Afrika, insluitende die Wes-en Noord-Kaap gestig
is. Die varieteit word al vir die afgelope 10 jaar eksperimenteel en semikommersiëel
deur Citrogold geëvalueer.
Die varieteit word besit deur Croc. Valley Estates en is beskerm deur 'n
planttelersreg registrasie in Suid-Afrika.
Die varieteit stel die produsent in staat om hul "Midknight-" pluk venster te
versprei en bied die produsent meer tyd om goeie interne gehalte standaarde
vir uitvoere te bereik. Citrogold glo dat Alpha valencias 'n beduidende impak
sal maak op die winsgewendheid van produsente wat met Valencias boer.
Citrogold (Pty) Ltd. PO Box 3234, Matieland 7602, Stellenbosch South Africa Tel: +27 21 882 8277 Fax: +27 21 882 8322
E-mail: info@citrogold.co.za Website: www.citrogold.co.za © Citrogold 2012

Produsente het aandagtig na Freek Veldman
(Citrogold) se voorlegging geluister
Kliek hier vir die Sonet Spesifikasies
&
Citrogold in cooperation with the PPECB,
ARC and the Horticulture Department at
Stellenbosch University conducted the
first storage trials of the B17 and B24
mandarins.
Both varieties performed astoundingly
well when exposed to 30 days of cold
sterilisation at -0.5 degrees Celsius. The
trials have shown that the varieties have
good storage abilities but require
appropriate maturity indexing prior to
harvesting so as to avoid "off"-flavours.
These trials will be repeated this year.
Citrogold conducts cold sterilisation
storage trials on all new varieties under its
evaluation.
B17 Fruit
B24 Fruit
Dennis Solomon's keen eye for
exceptional performance was the key to
his success as a farmer & breeder of citrus
and cattle.
His background as a qualified engineer
and the difficult growing environment of
the Nelspruit area lead to the development
of a number of innovative applications
including dragline irrigation, development
of new varieties and the combating of greening disease.
Dennis Solomon owned & managed the Crocodile Valley Estates which included
citrus, pecan & macadamia nuts and avocado from 1954 until 2005 The farm was
known for its exceptional yields despite the limitations of the climate.
Dennis Solomon dedicated a lot of his time to Industry matters and represented
independent private citrus growers on the Citrus Board for many years.
The Alpha and Ruby Valencia's were identified in 1987 and 1990 respectively.
These exceptional varieties are testimony to his steadfast nature and innovative
approach to farming. Click here for the Ruby Valencia Spec Sheet
Right: Alpha Valencia
Left: Ruby Valencia
CITROGOLD NEWS • March 2012 • Page 2 © Citrogold 2012

Citrus nurseries in South Africa have
received the first Witkrans Navel
budwood from the CFB this month after a
three year delay, due to the previous
plant material at the Foundation Block
being infected with a viroid.
Witkrans Fruit
Click here for the Witkrans Spec Sheet
Frozen Juice samples of Ruby Valencia's
produced in South Africa were analysed
by the Floridian Juice Industry and found
to have exception qualities.
The Ruby orange juice was found to
have a colour fraction exceeding 40.05.
This colour hue makes the variety highly
sought after for enhancing juice quality
of other blander juicing oranges.
'n Toer word beplan vir Australië in Mei
2012 om na die M7 navel te gaan kyk.
Vir meer besonderhede hieroor, kontak
gerus vir Peter Turner by Citrogold.
pturner@citrogold.co.za
-
High value citrus varieties require a more
intensive management input:
The Or mandarin is a late maturing variety that is harvested in South Africa in July and
August. The variety has exceptional flavour characteristics and is highly sought after by
the market.
The variety has been under production in South Africa for the past 10 years with mixed
results. The variety is extremely vigorous and produces low yields during the juvenile
phase.
The Israeli Industry has persevered with the variety and has developed a range of management
tools to obtain regular cropping.
The variety fruit set is manipulated by a series of activities during the course of the production
year including winter and summer pruning, autumn and spring girdling, GA
applications, late foliar feeding etc. The Israeli growers are able to achieve sustainable
tonnages of 40 - 50 tonnes per year using these management techniques. The variety is
protected by a PBR in South Africa.
Growers are able to access the variety to plant in South Africa through membership of
the Prestige Mandarin Growers Company (PMG). There has been an increase in interest
in plantings of the variety in the past few years following successful production of older
South African, Spanish and Israeli orchards. Click here for the Orri Spec Sheet
Citrogold experimental evaluation sites prove that the Smith pomegranate is
true-to-type.
This exceptional full red early maturing pomegranate variety has produced an
excellent first crop in several experimental orchards.
The variety appears to ripen in March in Limpopo and April the Southern Cape
experimental sites.
An exceptional feature of the variety has been its full red external colour.
An interesting point of difference is the excellent acid : sugar balance of the fruit
when compared to other varieties currently under production in South Africa.
Click here for the Smith Pomegranate Spec Sheet
CITROGOLD NEWS • March 2012 • Page 3 © Citrogold 2012