http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20100508/NEWS01/5080315/Local-couple-shares-success-with-citrus-in-North-Fla.

Local couple shares success with citrus in North Fla.

By Dr. Ashok N. Shahane • SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT • May 8, 2010


Fruits from the Satsuma tree in the Tallahassee yard of Dr. Shahane and Meena Ashok. The
couple has had success with the Satsuma tree, which is more resistant to colder temperatures in
north Florida. (Special to the Democrat)

"John, do you know what Satsuma is?"

"Frankly, I don't know what it means. What is it?" John replied.

That is the common response we receive in Tallahassee, and it is quite surprising to know how few people know about the Satsuma.

In 2006, then Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill designating the orange as Florida's state fruit. But most types of orange trees don't survive well in the Big Bend due to the cold weather in the winter.

The Satsuma, however, is reported to be that sturdy citrus tree which is more tolerant of the colder weather. What an orange is for south Florida the Satsuma is for North Florida.

The dictionary defines Satsuma as a mandarin orange, which is more or less synonymous with a tangerine.

My wife, Meena, and I, like most of us in Tallahassee, get spring fever in March every year. In 1996, Meena bought a Satsuma plant from a local nursery and planted it in our backyard.

That tree not only survived, but has been bearing fruit since 2004. I have decided to share our experiences with our Satsuma tree so that hopefully it will inspire many to consider planting a Satsuma tree in their gardens or backyard.

Depending upon the fluctuations of the climatic conditions, the process of developing the full-fledged delicious Satsuma fruits can take 10 to11 months in Tallahassee, starting with the flowering season in March or April to the ripened Satsumas in January or February (November-December usually considered norm).

If the air temperatures stay below freezing for a prolonged period, the cells of the Satsuma fruit on the tree can be damaged and the fruit starts putrefying. Prolonged temperatures in the mid- to low teens can even kill the tree.

Proper pruning and spraying the tree with oil and a miticide before it blossoms have helped our Satsuma tree. Use of fertilizer during the flowering period in March or April and one more time during mid-summer was also beneficial in our case.

Satsumas are very easy to peel once they are properly matured. Smaller Satsumas on our tree are seedless. However, relatively large Satsumas on the same tree contain seeds. Bee pollinated Satsumas are usually bigger in size and have seeds in them.

Several remedies to protect the Satsuma tree during a hard freeze have been suggested. Covering the tree with a tarp and using the portable electric heater were among them. However, due to the size of the canopy of our Satsuma tree, we did not pursue them. Watering the tree a day before the hard freeze and directing our two flood lights (100 watts each) toward the tree were successful.

In 1915, the City of Marianna in Jackson County was known as the Satsuma capitol of the world. But, in 1935, a freeze killed the Satsuma groves. Recently growers in Marianna have developed groves and many cases of Satsuma fruit were shipped from Marianna to other places around the country in December 2008.

If these new varieties of Satsuma trees can withstand the fall and winter temperatures effectively, the Satsuma will become a household word in the near future not only in north Florida but all over the world.

Dr. Ashok N. Shahane works for the state of Florida in Tallahassee. This article is written by him as a citizen, and thus the views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of his past and present employers. He can be contacted at mshahane@fsu.edu.

For more info

Useful links suggested by David W. Marshall of the IFAS Leon County Extension Services:

http://nassau.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/demogarden/plants/satsuma.html

http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/files/pdf/newsletters/2004/NFREC_newsletter_0617_081604.pdf

http://leon.ifas.ufl.edu/News_Columns/2003/CitrusNFla.htm

http://polkhort.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/publications/Citrus%20(cold%20hardy).pdf

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mandarin_orange.html


Dr. Ashok N. Shahane