Sweetness Is Standard In Navels
May 2, 2013 
To say the variety mix is constantly changing in California citrus is putting it mildly. Just look at what a difference a decade makes.
By 2004, 118,223 acres of oranges had been planted in the state, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, compared to 21,799 acres of mandarins and mandarin-hybrids. By 2012, oranges were up to 130,088, up 10%. But the mandarin/mandarin-hybrid growth was up nearly 100%, to 42,922 acres.
It can be misleading to compare statistical percentages, particularly when one category is starting from a much smaller base. But look at another set of numbers for a revealing look into the future. In 2012, the last year for which figures are available, there were 3,431 acres of non-bearing oranges in the ground, compared with 5,887 acres of nonbearing mandarin/mandarin-hybrids.
“Mandarins’ share of the market will grow; the fruit is in the ground,” says Jim Meeks, Seasonal Specialties & Grapefruit Product Manager, Sunkist Growers, Inc. “It’s just a matter of all those trees coming into production.”
Place For Navels
Looking at those numbers — and if you want a more complete look, check out the chart on page 14 — you might think oranges, especially navels, are in trouble. (Acreage of specialty oranges, like Bloods and Cara Caras, are actually up significantly.) But Meeks isn’t so sure. First, navels don’t generally have seeds. “Anything that’s seeded is really losing favor with the consumer,” he says. “It’s like the grapes years ago.”
Second, navel growers are starting to pay more attention to flavor. “Mandarins are at the top of the industry right now,” he says, “but there’s a place in the industry for navels, no question.”
That place is the sweet spot. With the emergence of the specialty citrus fruits like mandarins, navel growers began to realize they needed to make some changes, says Kevin Severns, a grower who also serves as manager of the Orange Cove-Sanger Citrus Association. In 2003, at California Citrus Mutual (CCM)’s request, the Citrus Research Board embarked on a three-year study with University of California researchers. It was the beginning of what growers hope will be a consistently sweeter navel, the California Standard (CA).
Sugar, Sugar
The study concluded that sugar to acid ratios were not the best method of measuring flavor. The 8:1 ratio then used by the industry was originally implemented nearly a century ago, in 1915. Brix minus acid (BrimA) was proven to be a much better predictor of flavor. Severns looked through some of his own maturity testing records to show some examples of why the BrimA evaluation is superior to the old ratio.
One sample with a Brix reading of 8.5 and a titration reading of 22.0; Sugar/Acid Ratio 10.0; passes 8.0 ration easily, but CA Standard reads 84.1 (must be at least 90.0 to pass) — meaning low sugar/low acid — bland flavor. Another sample with a Brix reading of 11.8 and a titration reading of 40.1; Sugar/Acid Ratio of 7.7 (fails 8.0 ratio), but CA Standard of 93.6. Relatively high acid but also fairly high Brix, so good, tangy-sweet flavor.
In 2008, CCM received a Specialty Crop Grant to pay for a consumer study at Tragon consumer labs in Chicago. This study, using 400 consumers, confirmed that BrimA was a much better predictor. An industry task force was formed, of which Severns was a member, CCM agreed to pursue what it termed California Standard, and it went into effect for the 2012-2013 crop year.
In the end, the result has been pretty simple, says Severns. If fruit is really sweet, above 12 Brix, it normally passes the California Standard and can be shipped. “It seems like the Asians figured this out long ago, because they never paid much attention to acid, that if it has a high Brix it’s probably a good piece of fruit,” he says. “It’s always surprised me that we were surprised by that.”
A Very Good Year
This year hasn’t really been a good test for the California Standard because the fruit has been so uniformly sweet, says Kevin Severns. “What would be a real test is when we encounter conditions like a cooler summer when the sugar levels don’t get up there,” he says. “We will be keeping fruit off the market, and will the industry have the resolve when there are blocks left unpicked because they don’t meet the Standard?”
Severns hopes he doesn’t find out as soon as this coming 2013-14 crop season because he fears opposition to the California Standard might emerge. “If we get enough years under our belt with the Standard, it will be OK,” he says.
Because this year is so outstanding, “just for giggles,” Severns ran a test in late March to find out how their navels were tracking regarding the California Standard and the old sugar/acid ratio evaluation at that point in the season. In an email, he wrote: “I knew it would be good but I had no idea how good!”
Here’s what he came up with on a random sample pulled off of their packing line.
• California Standard: 160.6 (minimum is 90)
• Brix to Acid ratio: 18.6 to 1 (minimum was 8.0 to 1)
He concluded his message: “As I mentioned, the fruit is phenomenal this year. That said, most years it is excellent at this point in the season — truly nature’s candy!”
Wanted: Big Navels
The increasing popularity of specialty citrus such as mandarins has prompted navel orange growers to grow sweeter fruit. Next up, says fourth-generation citrus grower Jay Gillette, will be the move to larger fruit.
A partner in Sunkist-affiliated Gillette Citrus Inc., a vertically integrated company that grows, packs, and ships fresh citrus, he formerly served as president of California Citrus Mutual. “Mandarins will continue to take a big chunk of the citrus pie,” says Gillette, “but not all navel sizes will be affected.”
As with a lot of other types of fruit, smaller fruit used to be regarded as more acceptable to consumer, and Gillette says he can remember when they used to pack size 163 navels and even 180s. But over the past 20 years or so, mandarins have become the small citrus of choice among consumers. “Today 138s are pretty much the smallest, but those Mandarins will really cut into that business, as well as into the 113s — the next size up,” he says.
Buyers will soon be interested only in larger navels, he predicts. “They will say, ‘Not only do we want your navels perfect, we want them big,'” says Gillette. “It’s a very, very competitive market out there, and there’s enough citrus out there that it’s not going to get any easier.”
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