Tasting the Citrondarin, a Bizarre Citrus Fruit from Soviet Russia
As part of my effort to introduce new citrus varieties to California, I tasted the citrondarin, a bizarre citrus fruit from the former Soviet Union, in response to a viewer request. You can help me to introduce new citrus varieties by taking this short survey (should take no more than 3 minutes.) Thank you to Juli Mallett for taking part in my survey last year and suggesting the introduction of the citrondarin.
Citrondarin
It is not clear that the citrondarin is actually a graft chimera. It may be a hybrid fruit rather than a graft chimera. As more is learned about the genetics of the citrondarin, this article at the UC Riverside Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection will be updated.
Introducing New Varieties
This article explains how introducing new citrus varieties via shoot tip grafting can reduce the spread of citrus diseases. These are some of the nasty citrus diseases that threaten not only California, but also citrus growing regions all over the world.
Acknowledgement
I thank Georgios Vidalakis and the volunteers from the Citrus Clonal Protection Program (CCPP) who helped me to shoot the above video. I especially thank the following volunteers who tasted citrus fruits with me on camera: Alex Syed (in this video), Tyler Dang (in this video), and Gerry Uribe (will appear in future videos).
I also thank Tracy Kahn, Curator and Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection Endowed Chair.
Support the CCPP Mission
You can support the CCPP mission by clicking here to make a tax deductible contribution to the CCPP.
Citrus Variety Collection HLB Prevention Initiative
Huanglongbing has been detected in Riverside, California and is now threatening the UC Riverside Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection. If you would like to make a donation to the Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection HLB Prevention fund, please click “Citrus Variety Collection HLB Prevention Initiative Fund” at this link.