The voluntary registration period for pre-existing plantations of the Spring Sunshine variety came to a close in December 2018, as announced during the variety's presentation; however, the sale of new licenses will remain active until the maximum of 700,000 plants allowed to be licensed in Spain is reached. As is also the case with Orri mandarins, Spain is currently the only Mediterranean country authorized to produce Spring Sunshine, in addition to Israel. This exclusivity gives it added value.
Spain's 500 hectares of Spring Sunshine mandarins have been licensed in less than a year, which is a success and will lead to the creation of the Spring Sunshine Variety Producers Association in 2019. The goal of this association will be to control, defend and promote the variety, and will be created following the example of the Orri variety association (ORC), which is already achieving good results when it comes to stopping piracy and maximizing the profitability of this variety.
The Spring Sunshine variety is an induced mutation of the Murcott, obtained in the framework of the citrus improvement program of the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO) of Israel. The variety was granted Community Plant Variety Rights in May 2016, so the variety will remain protected in the European Union until December 2046.
The Spring Sunshine is considered the latest premium variety mandarin, as it ripens between the months of March and May in the northern hemisphere. At that time, the variety has great juice content, with an exceptional and perfectly compensated amount of sugars and acids, which gives it an extraordinary flavor. Its reddish orange skin has a very attractive appearance and it's easily peeled. Moreover, it has a low content of seeds.
At the agronomic level, the variety reaches good yields, with an average production in normal conditions estimated at between 40 to 50 tons per hectare.