Sugar Belle

Synonyms

None

Cultivar or taxon

Citrus reticulata Blanco [Clementine Group] X Citrus x aurantium L., pro sp. [Tangelo Group] [=Citrus reticulata Blano X Citrus x aurantium L., pro sp. [Grapefruit Group]] (sensu Mabberley 1997); Citrus reticulata Blanco X [Citrus reticulata Blanco x Citrus paradisi Macfad.] (sensu Swingle and Reece 1967)

Origin

The Chiefland Budwood Facility (2010) provided the following notes on the cultivar (clone DPI-434): "Released in 2009 by Dr. Fred Gmitter, IFAS....Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc. granted the New Varieties Development & Management Corp. the exclusive USA licensee for this variety. Must have license agreement with the NVDMC to propagate."

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; wings absent, if present, 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 (7-10), yellow-orange (11), orange (12), or red-orange (13); rind texture slightly rough (4-5); firmness leathery; navel absent; flesh orange; taste acidic-sweet.

The Chiefland Budwood Facility (2010) provided the following additional notes on the cultivar (clone DPI-434): "It is a seedy variety resembling Mineola[sic] tangelo although smaller in size and having a late November maturity. Good fruit color, flavor, tolerance to Alternaria and earlier maturity are it main attributes."

References

Chiefland Budwood Facility. 2010. 2010 Annual report July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010. Bureau of Citrus Budwood Registration, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Winter Haven.

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

Mabberley, D.J. 2004. Citrus (Rutaceae): A review of recent advances in etymology, systematics and medical applications. Blumea 49: 481–498.

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