Okitsu

Synonyms

Okitsu Wase (sec. Cottin 2002)

Cultivar or taxon

Citrus reticulata Blanco [Satsuma Group] (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967, Mabberley 1997); Citrus unshiu Marcov. (sensu Hodgson 1967; sensu Tanaka sec. Cottin 2002)

Origin

Hodgson (1967) noted that: "Okitsu originated as a nucellar seedling of Miyagawa from a controlled pollination with Poncirus trifoliata made by Doctors M. Kajiura and T. Iwasaki at the Horticultural Research Station, Okitsu, in 1940. It was distributed for trial in 1953, registered in 1963, and appears to be highly promising."

Description

Crown compact or dense, not weeping. First-year twig surface glabrous; second- or third-year twig surface striate; thorns absent or not persistent; prickles absent or not persistent. Petiole glabrous, length short or medium; wings narrow, adjoining the blade. Leaflets one, margin bluntly toothed, shade leaflet blades weakly conduplicate, sun leaflet blades weakly or strongly conduplicate. Scent of crushed leaflets mandarin-like. Fruit as broad as long or longer than broad; rind yellow-orange (11), orange (12), or red-orange (13); rind texture slightly rough (4-5); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh orange; taste acidic-sweet.

Hodgson (1967) provided the following additional notes on the cultivar: "Fruit somewhat more oblate than Miyagawa, but averages higher in sugar content and matures a week or so earlier. Trees also more vigorous."

References

Cottin, R. 2002. Citrus of the World: A citrus directory. Version 2.0. France: SRA INRA-CIRAD.

Hodgson, R.W. 1967. Horticultural varieties of Citrus. In: Reuther, W., H.J. Webber, and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry, rev. University of California Press. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter4.html.

Mabberley, D.J. 1997. A classification for edible Citrus (Rutaceae). Telopea 7: 167–172.

Swingle, W.T. and P.C. Reece. 1967. The botany of Citrus and its wild relatives. In: Reuther, W., H.J. Webber, and L.D. Batchelor (eds.). The Citrus industry. Ed. 2. Vol. I. University of California, Riverside. http://lib.ucr.edu/agnic/webber/Vol1/Chapter3.html.

Resources

Search for this cultivar in NCBI Entrez or NCBI Nucleotide

Additional information on this cultivar at University of California: Riverside Citrus Variety Collection