Instead of fully ripening, the orange fruits from HLB-affected trees drop pre-harvest, and are undersized with a firm texture. This negative effect is exacerbated by a reduction in both juice yield, as well as juice quality that results from off-flavors such as bitter and metallic. Optimizing available citrus rootstocks is one effective approach that enables a specific scion variety to be more resistant to common challenges including drought, frost, and diseases. For this study, orange fruits were harvested from trees of a cross trial amongst three selected rootstocks grafted with two scion varieties; both already affected by HLB. To evaluate their quality and consumer acceptance, manually extracted juice from each sample was subjected to consumer sensory evaluation and basic chemical parameter analyses. Both the consumer acceptance, and the ratio of total soluble solids and titratable acid showed significant variation among the three rootstocks within either scion variety tested. These results indicated that an optimum resistant rootstock may be vital in making a positive contribution towards improved fruit quality from HLB-affected citrus trees.

Rootstock effect on quality and consumer acceptance of Huanglongbing (HLB) affected orange juices

2019 Spring National Meeting

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