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A field day for citrus lovers in Fairhope
Friday, November 02, 2007
Staff Report

If you're a citrus nut, you should know that there's exciting stuff going on at the Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center in Fairhope.

Monte Nesbitt and his Auburn University cohorts are trialing dozens of kinds of citrus -- particularly the mandarins that offer so much potential for growers here on the Gulf Coast.

On Nov. 13, from 1 until 5 in the afternoon, Nesbitt will open the citrus groves for a tour, so commercial growers and home growers can see what all the fuss is about.

If you're just getting into growing citrus, some of this tour is probably a little over your head. But the first hour of the tour will be designed specifically for novices. And if you know the difference between a clementine and a satsuma, and if you're interested in developing and promoting Gulf Coast citrus, you're likely to find the whole tour informative and useful.

The Research and Extension Center is at 8300 State Highway 104 in Fairhope, about a quarter mile east of U.S. 98. For more information, contact Extension horticulturist Monte Nesbitt at 990-8417.

Thanks Joe-- that is right next to my sisters. I have been planning to go by there to get some pecan scions anyway-- I need a pollinizer for my Elliots. I had not thought about them for citrus budwood for my brothers and sisters trees.

I went to the Fairhope Agricultural Research Station today. I got to taste a lot of different citrus-- mostly satsumas. I tasted LA early, Early St Ann, Owari, Armstrong, Kinsu, Marisol clementine, and I did get to taste the C-9 satsuma from china. I think that the Early St Ann and the Kinsu were the best of the ones I tasted-- of course, it is a little early for Owari and they were a bit tart.

They had several seminars followed by a tour of the orchards and packing shed. Their presentations focused on the commercial aspects of growing satsumas in the northern gulf coast area where we get a killing freez about every 20 years. There was a lady there that presented a talk on the economics of growing satsumas with and without freeze protection-- as it works out, it appears that the micro jet sprinklers is the most profitable unless the price is over $1.00/lb-- then it actually pays to have the high tunnel greenhouse type protection.

They do not ship budwood or provide it on a large scale, but I should be able to get a few pieces of budwood from them for my brothers and sisters in Alabama next spring.

I did learn another interesting fact today-- Other than part of California, Satsumas are only grown along the northern gulf coast (TX, LA, AL, and Northern FL). Satsumas grown in the normal citrus producing areas of FL do not get sweet and do not turn orange-- the are sometimes sold (green) as citrus emeralds in parts of Florida where they do not color-- but that has not gone over well.

As a result, you never see satsumas in grocery stores--they are sold primarialy at roadside stands. Most of what is produced in CA is sold on the west coast.

I was impressed with the yields that they reported-- up to 600 lbs/tree for some mature trees in some years, but averaging over 400 lbs/tree