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Corsican citron
The Corsican citron (called alimea in Corsican and cedrat in French) is a citron variety that contains a non-acidic (sweet) pulp. Occasionally it is also called a 'citron of commerce'.
The name is from its cultivation center at the French Island of Corsica, where its primary use was for candying the rind. This practice was particularly economically significant during a boom period from the 1820s to the 1920s. It is said to be one of the first citrus fruits to reach Corsican soil. The cultivar is also grown in other areas of France such as Provence, in southern Spain, in the islands of Puerto Rico and in the United States, in Florida and California.
Citrons originated from the Himalayan foothills, and were over time introduced into the Mediterranean area, with the oldest evidence of citron there dating to the fifth century BCE. The first report of a sweet citron, was made in the late 12th century, by Ibn al-’Awwâm, who in his Book of Agriculture, described a 'sweet citron with light-colored buds and few, short thorns'. The relation between this variety and the Corsican citron is unknown, however, it is noteworthy as it may provide clues to where the acidless phenotype of the Corsican citron originated from. Due to the particular distribution of alleles of nuclear SSR markers between the Corsican citron, and a closely related cultivar, the Poncire Commun, it is possible that the Corsican citron originated from self-fertilisation of the Poncire Commun variety. Poncire Commun has six heterozygous loci, while the Corsican citron is homozygous at these loci, which is potentially a product of self-fertilisation
The Corsican citron variety is a slow-growing tree that reaches a height of about 3 to 5 metres (9.8 to 16.4 ft), open and spreading and rather small. It is medium-thorny with some large, stout spines. Its trunk is creamy white, and its leaves are medium large, oblong, with a blunt point and a crenate margin. The white fragrant blossom appears in March–April, and fruits can be harvested from October to November. Flowers, buds and new growth are not purple-tinted, and do not contain anthocyanins.
The fruits are ellipsoid to slightly egg-shaped, with slightly depressed and radially furrowed base. It has an indistinct to suppressed apical nipple and is lemon-yellow when ripe with a thick fleshy albedo. It is 7–10 cm (2.8–3.9 in) in diameter and 8–14 cm (3.1–5.5 in) in length. Its rind is 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) thick and is sweet with some bitter after-taste; its surface rather rough, bumpy, and commonly somewhat ribbed. The flesh of the fruit is crisp and solid, it has a sweet flavour without acid, its juice having a pH of 5.5. The average number of segments is 11–14. When given enough fertilizer and water, one tree can produce up to 80-100 fruits. It starts producing fruits in its third year. The seeds are white-yellowish, and there are around 25 to 40 monoembryonic seeds in each fruit. They lack proanthocyanidins.
The essential oil of its peel contains limonene, γ-terpinene and monoterpene hydrocarbons as its major components. Its leaf essential oil has higher contents of geraniol, nerol and (E)-phytol and lower amounts of limonene than other citron cultivars. Additionally, this essential oil has the highest concentration of oxygenated monoterpenes and the lowest concentration of monoterpene hydrocarbons, compared to other citron cultivars.
The Corsican citron is genetically closest to the "Poncire Commun" variety of citron, which unlike it, is acidic and contains anthocyanins. Genetically, this difference is shown in the deletion of 1313 nucleotides in the 3' terminus of a bHLH protein named Noemi. In the Corsican citron, this deletion is homozygous while in Poncire Commun, it is heterozygous. However sequences of the Ruby gene, and the bHLH gene MYC2 between the two varieties showed no difference.
The main pests of the Corsican citron are the citrus blossom moth, leaf miner, aphids, spider mites and scale insects such as red scale, cottony cushion scale, and citrus mealybug and a mediterranean ant. Phytophthora sp. continues to be a major disease of the Corsican citron, which is why nowadays, most Corsican citrons are produced from grafts. According to one study, using the Volkamer lemon as rootstock for the Corsican citron has more advantages than using the sour orange or the alemow, as in addition to its resistance to Phytophthora sp. , it is also resistant to the citrus tristeza virus, and more cold tolerant than the other commonly used rootstocks.
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Corsican citron
The Corsican citron (called alimea in Corsican and cedrat in French) is a citron variety that contains a non-acidic (sweet) pulp. Occasionally it is also called a 'citron of commerce'.
The name is from its cultivation center at the French Island of Corsica, where its primary use was for candying the rind. This practice was particularly economically significant during a boom period from the 1820s to the 1920s. It is said to be one of the first citrus fruits to reach Corsican soil. The cultivar is also grown in other areas of France such as Provence, in southern Spain, in the islands of Puerto Rico and in the United States, in Florida and California.
Citrons originated from the Himalayan foothills, and were over time introduced into the Mediterranean area, with the oldest evidence of citron there dating to the fifth century BCE. The first report of a sweet citron, was made in the late 12th century, by Ibn al-’Awwâm, who in his Book of Agriculture, described a 'sweet citron with light-colored buds and few, short thorns'. The relation between this variety and the Corsican citron is unknown, however, it is noteworthy as it may provide clues to where the acidless phenotype of the Corsican citron originated from. Due to the particular distribution of alleles of nuclear SSR markers between the Corsican citron, and a closely related cultivar, the Poncire Commun, it is possible that the Corsican citron originated from self-fertilisation of the Poncire Commun variety. Poncire Commun has six heterozygous loci, while the Corsican citron is homozygous at these loci, which is potentially a product of self-fertilisation
The Corsican citron variety is a slow-growing tree that reaches a height of about 3 to 5 metres (9.8 to 16.4 ft), open and spreading and rather small. It is medium-thorny with some large, stout spines. Its trunk is creamy white, and its leaves are medium large, oblong, with a blunt point and a crenate margin. The white fragrant blossom appears in March–April, and fruits can be harvested from October to November. Flowers, buds and new growth are not purple-tinted, and do not contain anthocyanins.
The fruits are ellipsoid to slightly egg-shaped, with slightly depressed and radially furrowed base. It has an indistinct to suppressed apical nipple and is lemon-yellow when ripe with a thick fleshy albedo. It is 7–10 cm (2.8–3.9 in) in diameter and 8–14 cm (3.1–5.5 in) in length. Its rind is 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) thick and is sweet with some bitter after-taste; its surface rather rough, bumpy, and commonly somewhat ribbed. The flesh of the fruit is crisp and solid, it has a sweet flavour without acid, its juice having a pH of 5.5. The average number of segments is 11–14. When given enough fertilizer and water, one tree can produce up to 80-100 fruits. It starts producing fruits in its third year. The seeds are white-yellowish, and there are around 25 to 40 monoembryonic seeds in each fruit. They lack proanthocyanidins.
The essential oil of its peel contains limonene, γ-terpinene and monoterpene hydrocarbons as its major components. Its leaf essential oil has higher contents of geraniol, nerol and (E)-phytol and lower amounts of limonene than other citron cultivars. Additionally, this essential oil has the highest concentration of oxygenated monoterpenes and the lowest concentration of monoterpene hydrocarbons, compared to other citron cultivars.
The Corsican citron is genetically closest to the "Poncire Commun" variety of citron, which unlike it, is acidic and contains anthocyanins. Genetically, this difference is shown in the deletion of 1313 nucleotides in the 3' terminus of a bHLH protein named Noemi. In the Corsican citron, this deletion is homozygous while in Poncire Commun, it is heterozygous. However sequences of the Ruby gene, and the bHLH gene MYC2 between the two varieties showed no difference.
The main pests of the Corsican citron are the citrus blossom moth, leaf miner, aphids, spider mites and scale insects such as red scale, cottony cushion scale, and citrus mealybug and a mediterranean ant. Phytophthora sp. continues to be a major disease of the Corsican citron, which is why nowadays, most Corsican citrons are produced from grafts. According to one study, using the Volkamer lemon as rootstock for the Corsican citron has more advantages than using the sour orange or the alemow, as in addition to its resistance to Phytophthora sp. , it is also resistant to the citrus tristeza virus, and more cold tolerant than the other commonly used rootstocks.