By Clint Thompson and Dale Sandlin
The potential lack of satsuma mandarins this season in the cold-hardy citrus region should not discourage growers from adding to their production portfolio in the future. It just means they need to try other varieties, despite satsumas being the most commonly produced variety in the region.
Jake Price, University of Georgia (UGA) area citrus agent, addressed this topic during the Southeast Citrus Update in Lyons, Georgia, on July 24. He advised that growers should be willing to consider alternatives, given satsuma’s extreme alternate bearing cycle.
“From what I have seen, there are a lot of other varieties that will grow in Georgia and be successful. There’s no reason not to try those,” Price said. “We need to test a lot of varieties to see which ones are most cold-hardy and put them on rootstocks that may make them more cold-hardy. There are some rootstocks I do believe will help with cold hardiness, and we can find combinations of rootstocks and different varieties. We need to plant those trees a little farther north to see which ones do the best.
“Varieties that are grown now and doing pretty well tend to be navels, Tangos and Shiranuis. There are a lot of varieties that are being tried. Most of these varieties have done okay with the cold.”
Citrus industry leaders confirmed earlier this summer that the satsuma supply will be extremely low for the upcoming season following an overabundance of supply in 2024. Satsuma’s alternate bearing tendency is just one reason that growers have already started transitioning to other cold-hardy varieties.
“Satsumas tend to ripen internally before they turn orange. When they do turn orange, sometimes they get too soft to market,” Price said. “The heat that we’re getting later into the year, like into October, makes that problem worse. It makes satsumas not the greatest commercial fruit, and they have a very short window of harvest when you can pick them.”