Arrufatina clementine

Citrus clementina hort. ex Tanaka

CRC 4181

VI 631

Photos by David Karp and Toni Siebert, CVC. Photo rights.

 Source: Received as budwood from Castellon de Plana, Spain, 2001.

Parentage/origins:  This variety is said to have originated in the town of Villareal.

Rootstocks of accession: Carrizo citrange, C-35 citrange

Season of ripeness at Riverside: October to December

Notes and observations:

This accession is protected by Intellectual Property Rights, it should be requested from the donor/developer. Assignee: Llatser, F., Agrupacion de Viveristas de Agrios SA. Comment: This variety was donated for evaluation and maintenance only. 'Arrufatina' originated as bud mutation of 'Nules' (Bono-Ubeda et al, p 28; Saunt, p 54). According to Bono-Ubeda et al (p 28), trees of 'Arrufatina' tend to be thorny when young, but this disappears somewhat with age. The seedless fruit is of a good size and has acceptable quality. It is an early variety, maturing about three weeks earlier than 'Nules'. It is productive and should be planted in "early" zones. Harvesting should begin when the fruit starts to de-green, and if harvest is delayed then coloring is delayed and there is a tendency to puff.

Additional information from Saunt (pp 54-55) indicates that fruit size is larger than 'Nules' and 'Oronules' but smaller than 'Marisol'. In addition to the puff mentioned above, granulation may also occur if harvest is delayed. When fully mature, the rind color is a very intense orange but appearance is slightly detracted from by the depressed stylar end. "While the sugar to acid reatio is higher than Marisol but lower than Oronules, the flavour [sic] of Arrufatina cannot compete with either of these two other early maturing selections, with the result that further plantings are likely to be on a limited scale in Spain." (Saunt, p 55)
 

Availability: Commercially available in California through the Citrus Clonal Protection Program.