' Jingxian' Blood Orange; The Only Pigmented Sweet Orange Cultivar Originated in China

摘要

' Jingxian' blood orange was found in Jingxian, Hunan Province during the provincial investigation of citrus germplasm in 1958. The earliest trees were found in Dayou Street at the county, and were of more than 100 years. ' Jingxian' blood orange was considered as seedling mutation of a local sweet orange and ' Jingxian ' blood orange was released as a good local citrus cultivar in 1974. 'Jingxian' blood orange has vigorous growth, high yield and tolerance to stresses. The fruit matures in later December, and the average fruit weight is about 166. 5 g, fruit peel and flesh present dark red color due to the presence of anthocyanin. The fruit pulp is juicy and rich of tastes with TSS 11 - 14 °Brix. The fruit is able to be stored under normal ventilation room for a few months. In February-April, fruit color and flavor are even improved with abundant juice content after proper storage. However, it has thick peel, rough juice sac and many seeds. Later selections ' Jingyuan number 1' and * Jingyuan number 7' had improved fruit quality. The cultivation area of Jingxian blood orange was about 10 ha in 1980 with a production of about 300 000kg. During the past decades, cultivation increased to 35 ha, but no progress has made in these years. In 2007, the unique Chinese blood orange was found lost its cultivation down to less than 10 ha. The main reason is the competition from navel orange and from Tarocco blood orange cultivars.