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Old Line & Nucellar Navel Selections
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Type and parentage: Sweet Orange
Average diameter (inches): 3 - 3 1/2
Seeds per fruit: 0-6
Commercial harvest season: October - January
Selections available in Florida are usually marketed fresh and produce relatively small crops of large fruit. The juice of navel oranges is not desirable for processing due to the bitterness caused by limonin. As there is a tendency for the variety to mutate, there are many navel strains. Choice of horticulturally well tested selections is therefore important. The fruit peels relatively easily and sectionalizes well. Fruit tends to be lower in acid content than most orange varieties. The navel structure seen at the blossom end of the fruit is actually a partially formed secondary fruit. Premature yellowing and rot, a characteristic of its structure, results in premature fruit drop. The two periods of fruit drop, early and late summer, can
account for 15-20 percent of the crop some years. 2,4-D sprays may be used to reduce this. Fruit from trees on lemon-type rootstocks tend to dry out prematurely. Rind blemish can occur early in the season from mechanical damage during handling. Navels tend to require more precise management, particularly relating to stress avoidance. Irrigation and nutrition levels should be carefully monitored. Navels are quite susceptible to the Colletotrichum fungus, the cause of postbloom fruit drop (PFD).
Selections available at the Immokalee Foundation:
N-4-2-1(stg-39D-22-X-E): Old Line. Choate Navel. Choate is early maturing, moderate to large fruit size, average yields with a navel ranging from closed to large. This selection came from Grand Island in Lake County. The tree is large and vigorous and the fruit has average brix and low acid.
N-63-18-2(stg-54-10-X-E): Old Line. This variety is named for the location where it was discovered - Port Myacca. The fruit has good brix:acid ratio, early maturity, holds well on the tree, medium sized fruit, average yields. Port Myacca has a distinctive navel, not protruding. The tree is large and vigorous on vigorous rootstocks.
N-S-F-56-12-X-E: Nucellar Line. This cultivar originated from seedlings of the Glen Navel, a selection made by Glen St. Mary's Nursery in Polk County. 56-12 has large fruit and characteristic early maturity. The navel is open and non-protruding. The yields are among the best with average brix:acid ratios.
University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, 1999
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, Bureau of Citrus Budwood Registration
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