The Dancy variety was obtained after more than a decade of work and research on citrus in Corpoíca La Libertad. This fruit produces more than 50 tons per hectare, while the traditional mandarin Arrayana gives about 40.
Javier Orduz, citrus researcher and specialist of Corpoíca, explained that this mandarin is ideal to compete with those being imported, it has better flavor and excellent adaptation to the Piedemonte Llanero´s conditions.
"We are thinking to extend the harvest period with this new mandarin and to introduce it in other months of the year, which means to work all year to maintain a standing offer," said Orduz.
According to researchers, the behavior of 13 commercial varieties and hybrids of the major citrus species in foothill conditions in Meta were evaluated and one of the most featured was the Dancy variety.
The provenance of the material is the citrus variety collection at the University of California, Riverside station that agreed to cooperate with the investigative process.
This research led to the conclusion that the Colombian citrus has a small number of
cultivars, resulting in an excessive concentration of harvest, poor presentation and poor development of new markets.
Source: Eltiempo.com