U.S. Patent PP29,791
Sweet Orange Cultivar
- ‘Florida EV1’ trees usually bloom between early to late March in central Florida, depending on the season. ‘Florida EV1’ trees bear fruit that ripens from December through January in central Florida. ‘Florida EV1’ trees bear fruit that is typical of ‘Valencia’, although ‘Florida EV1’ fruit ripen 8-12 weeks earlier than standard ‘Valencia’ clones, based on the brix/acid ratio. Over the past two seasons, ‘Florida EV1’ has matured significantly earlier than the early-maturing ‘SF14W-62’ (U.S. Patent PP21,535). Juice data from the original tree did not show that ‘Florida EV1’ matures earlier than ‘SF14W-62’, however, fruit on propagated trees have exhibited earlier maturity over the past two seasons. ‘Florida EV1’ fruit appears to mature slightly earlier than fruit from the partner clone, ‘Florida EV2’.
- ‘Florida EV1’ trees are less upright and of slightly lower vigor than Valquarius® ‘SF14W-62’ and standard ‘Valencia’. Second and third generation trees are less thorny than ‘SF14W-62’, and more similar to traditional ‘Valencia’ selections.
- Juice quality of ‘Florida EV1’ is typical of ‘Valencia’ in sugar and acid content, color, and flavor. The fruit are juicy and difficult to peel. Fruit are slightly more seedy than standard ‘Valencia’, with 9-10 seeds per fruit (standard ‘Valencia’ has 4-5 seeds per fruit).
- ‘Florida EV1’ appears to be at least as productive as standard ‘Valencia’ clones.
The following are the most outstanding and distinguishing characteristics of ‘Florida EV1’ when grown under normal horticultural practices in Florida.
- Fruit ripen 8-12 weeks earlier than standard ‘Valencia’;
- Fruit have excellent juice quality; and
- Trees of ‘Florida EV1’ exhibit a less vigorous growth habit, which should facilitate use in Advanced Citrus Production Systems that feature high density plantings.
For the 2014-2015 juice season, fruit from 6-year-old trees on rough lemon rootstock produced juice with a brix/acid ratio of 16, whereas ‘Hamlin’ fruit from the same block produced juice with a brix/acid ratio of 12. Juice quality from fruit of ‘Florida EV1’ was much better than standard ‘Hamlin’ in December and January, and more similar to that of standard ‘Valencia’, the highest quality juice orange currently available, with harvest usually beginning in March. ‘Florida EV1’ therefore provides the processing industry with an opportunity to replace ‘Hamlin’, which is currently the standard early-maturing cultivar in the Florida juice industry. Replacing ‘Hamlin’ with new Valencia types that mature in the same window, such as ‘Florida EV1’, has the potential to significantly improve the flavor and color of not-from-concentrate orange juice. In the event of January or February freeze-mandated harvests, this would allow for grade A juice recovery without the economic loss encountered with standard ‘Valencia’ fruit that is not fully mature at the time of harvest.
License Availability: FFSP has non-exclusively licensed the following entities for the propagation of the ‘Florida EV1’ citrus cultivar:
Brite Leaf Citrus Nursery, LLC
480 CR 416 S
Lake Panasoffkee, FL 33538
(352) 793-6861
https://www.briteleaf.com/
Citrific Holdings, Inc.
2400 Rosalie Lake Rd
Lake Wales, FL 33898
(863) 589-7456
http://citrific.com/
Phillip Rucks Citrus Nursery, Inc
1697 Rucks Dairy Rd.
Frostproof, FL 33843
(863) 635-1948
http://www.ruckscitrusnursery.com/
Sawmill Citrus Nursery, LLC
P.O. Box 912
Ft. Meade, FL 33841
(863) 698-2971
Southridge Citrus Nursery, Inc.
260 Karlson Rd.
Venus, FL 33960
(863) 465-5803
W.E. Green & Sons, Inc.
P.O. Box 1802
Dundee, FL 33838
(863) 439-4244