Orange

Mark A. Ritenour
Ritenour is with the Indian River Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Fort Pierce, FL.

Scientific Name and Introduction

The sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) is a dicotyledonous, perennial evergreen of the
Rutaceae family that leads other Citrus species in both production area and value. Fruit vary
from spherical to oblong and are seedless (0 to 6 seeds) to seeded (>6 seeds). Peel color at
maturity ranges from light to deep orange but may remain green under warm conditions. Late
season ‘Valencia’ oranges may turn from orange to green (“regreen”) under warm conditions.

Sweet oranges are generally classified into one of four groups: (1) round oranges such as
‘Valencia,’ ‘Hamlin,’ ‘Pineapple,’ and ‘Shamouti’; (2) navel oranges such as ‘Washington
Navel’; (3) blood or pigmented oranges such as ‘Moro’ and ‘Tarocco’; and (4) acidless oranges
such as ‘Succari.’ In the United States, the leading orange-growing States are Florida, California,
Texas, and Arizona. Of these, Florida is the largest producer of oranges; over 90% go for
processing. California is the largest producer of oranges for the fresh market. Like other citrus
fruits, oranges are nonclimacteric with no postharvest ripening phase.

Quality Characteristics and Criteria

A high-quality orange is mature, with good color intensity that is uniformly distributed over the
surface. Fruit must be firm with a fairly smooth texture and shape that is characteristic of the
variety. Fruit should be free from decay, defects, and blemishes.

Horticultural Maturity Indices

Maturity indices are based on percentage color break, SSC, TA, SSC:TA, and juice content.
Specific regulations are established for different growing regions.

Florida: Minimum maturity indices for fresh fruit shipments change according to harvest date
and are based on SSC and SSC:TA:
SSC SSC:TA ratio
Date Minimum Minimum
------------------%-------------------
Aug. 1 to Oct. 31 9.0 10.00
Nov. 1 to Nov. 15 8.7 10.15
Nov. 16 to July 31 8.5 10.25
Florida oranges also have minimum requirements for TA (0.4%) and juice content (4.5 gal per
1.6-bu box).

California and Arizona: For fruit with yellow-orange color on ≥ 25% of the surface, SSC:TA
must be 8 or higher; and for fruit with green-yellow color on≥ 25% of the surface, SSC:TA ratio
must be 10 or higher.
Texas: To meet minimum maturity, fruit must have 8.5 to 8.9% SSC with a SSC:TA ratio of 10
or higher, or must have SSC of 9% or higher with a SSC:TA of 9 or higher. Texas oranges also
have a minimum juice content of 4.5 gal per 1.6-bu box.

Grades, Sizes, and Packaging

U.S. grade standards for sweet oranges are based on maturity, color intensity and uniformity,
firmness, shape, size, smoothness, and freedom from decay, as well as freedom from defects
(bruises and abrasions), insects, fungal attack (for example, cake melanose), growth cracks,
chemical burns, and physiological disorders. See http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/standards
for more details on State-specific grade standards.

U.S. grades for Florida oranges (AMS 1997): U.S. Fancy, U.S. No. 1 Bright, U.S. No. 1, U.S.
No. 1 Golden, U.S. No. 1 Bronze, U.S. No. 1 Russet, U.S. No. 2 Bright, U.S. No. 2, U.S. No. 2
Russet, U.S. No. 3. Standard packed sizes used in Florida include 64, 80, 100, 125, and 163 fruit
per 28.2-L (4/5 bu) container (Florida Department of Citrus 1999).

U.S. grades for California and Arizona oranges (AMS 1999): U.S. Fancy, U.S. No. 1, U.S.
Combination, U.S. No. 2. Standard packed sizes used in California include 24, 32, 36, 40, 48, 56,
72, 88, 113, 138, 163, 180, 210, 245, and 270 fruit per 28.5-L (4/5 bu) container (California
Department of Food and Agriculture 1990).

U.S. grades for Texas and States other than Florida, California, or Arizona (AMS 1969): U.S.
Fancy, U.S. No. 1, U.S. No. 1 Bright, U.S. No. 1 Bronze, U.S. Combination, U.S. No. 2, U.S.
No. 2 Russet, U.S. No. 3. Standard packed sizes used in Texas and States other than Florida,
California and Arizona include 48 or 50, 64, 80, 100, 125, 144, and 162 fruit per 24.7-liter (7/10-
bushel) container (AMS 1969).

Well-vented polyethylene and plastic mesh bags of various sizes are also used to market oranges.
Oranges may be individually seal-packaged (wrapped with various plastic films), but this
practice has not been widely adopted.

Precooling Conditions

Rapid cooling is often neglected in many citrus packinghouses but should be seriously
considered as a means of improving fruit quality at destination markets. Cooling reduces
respiration, slows pathogen growth, reduces water loss, and increases shelf-life. Common
cooling methods for oranges include room-cooling and forced-air cooling. Oranges can also be
hydrocooled, but this practice is seldom used because of the increased risk of spreading decay
organisms. For room-cooling and forced-air cooling, maintaining good airflow through cartons is
important to rapidly remove heat from the product. To facilitate this, carton design should
include at least 5% side venting, designed to line up with adjacent carton vents and allow airflow
through the entire load.

Optimum Storage Conditions

Under normal weather conditions, fruit store better on the tree than in cold storage. Cold storage
should not be attempted if the fruit storage potential has been expended by prolonged tree
storage. Once harvested, fruit quality will not improve. Before being placed into storage, fruit
should be precooled to slow respiration and treated with an approved fungicide to reduce decay.
Oranges can be stored for up to 12 weeks under optimum storage conditions. Ultimate storage
life depends on cultivar, maturity, preharvest conditions, and postharvest handling. Oranges
begin to freeze in storage at about -1 °C (30 °F) (Whiteman 1957). During storage, fruit should
be inspected often for signs of decay or disorders. Such problems will advance rapidly once the
fruit are removed from cold storage.

Recommended storage conditions are—

Growing Region Temperature Relative Humidity
Florida and Texas 0 to 1 °C 85 to 90%
California and Arizona 3 to 8 °C 90 to 95%

Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Considerations

CA of 5 to 10% O 2 and 0 to 5% CO2 may aid in retaining quality of oranges. Decreased O 2 levels
help maintain firmness and retard senescence, while high CO2 levels can inhibit the development
of chilling injury. However, CA is not commonly used because tolerable O2 and CO2 levels do
not significantly inhibit decay (Hatton and Cubbedge 1977), which limits shelf-life the most.
Addition of 5 to 10% CO to CA may improve decay control but is dangerous because it is lethal
to humans. Maintaining low ethylene (<1 µL L-1) during CA storage may improve flavor
retention and reduce stem-end decay (McGlasson and Eaks 1972).

Retail Outlet Display Considerations

Oranges should be displayed on nonrefrigerated shelves and inspected often to remove damaged
or decaying fruit.

Chilling Sensitivity

California and Arizona oranges may develop chilling injury when held at temperatures below
about 3 to 5 ºC (37 to 41 ºF). Oranges produced in Florida or Texas rarely show chilling injury.
Symptoms of chilling injury include pitting, brown staining, increased decay, internal
discoloration, off flavors, and watery breakdown that may take 60 days to develop at 5 °C (41
°F) or become evident 1 to 2 days after moving to room temperature (about 72 °F). After
removing fruit from chilling temperatures, respiration and ethylene production both increase.

The development and severity of chilling injury in citrus is influenced by both preharvest and
postharvest factors. Preharvest factors include cultivar, weather conditions, and even location of
fruit on the tree (sun-exposed fruit are more susceptible to chilling injury). Postharvest
development of chilling injury symptoms can be reduced by temperature conditioning before
storage, use of high-CO 2 atmospheres (for example, in CA or through the use of wax coatings or
plastic film wraps), intermittent warming, and use of benzimidazole fungicides (such as
thiabendazole and benomyl). The best means of preventing chilling injury is storing fruit at
nonchilling temperatures.

Ethylene Production and Sensitivity

Citrus produce very little ethylene: <0.1 μL kg-1 h-1 at 20 °C (68 °F). Ethylene is used to degreen
oranges, especially early in the season when natural degreening has been delayed because of
warm night temperatures. Degreening usually takes 1 to 3 days to complete and does not affect
internal quality (SSC, TA, etc.). However, ethylene stimulates decay, such as anthracnose
(Brown 1992) and stem-end rot (Barmore and Brown 1985), especially at >10 μL kg-1 h-1.
Ethylene also increases respiration in citrus.

Conditions for degreening (Kader and Arpaia 1992, Wardowski 1996) are—
Florida California
Temperature 28 to 29 ºC 20 to 25 ºC
Ethylene 5 µL L-1 5 to 10 µL L-1
RH 90 to 96% 90%
Ventilation (<0.1% CO2) 1 air change per hour 1 to 2 air changes per hour
Air Circulation 100 ft3 min-1 per 900-lb bin 1 room volume per min

Respiration Rates

Temperature mg CO2 kg-1 h-1

0 °C 2 to 6
5 °C 4 to 8
10 °C 6 to 10
15 °C 11 to 22
20 °C 20 to 31

To get mL CO2 kg-1 h-1, divide the mg kg-1 h-1 rate by 2.0 at 0 °C (32 °F), 1.9 at 10 °C (50 °F),
and 1.8 at 20 °C (68 °F). To calculate heat production, multiply mg kg-1 h-1 by 220 to get BTU
ton-1 day-1 or by 61 to get kcal tonne-1 day-1 .

Physiological Disorders

Creasing (albedo breakdown) results from the irregular deterioration of albedo cells (white
spongy tissue) and the collapse of the overlaying flavedo (colored portion of the rind) into
irregular grooves over the fruit surface. Such areas are weaker and often split, providing entry for
pathogenic fungi and subsequent decay. This disorder is usually more common on thin-skinned,
fully mature fruit. Conditions giving rise to creasing are complex and not well understood, but
appear to be related to cultivar, potassium nutrition deficiencies, high levels of nitrogen,
rootstock, water status, and temperature during fruit expansion. Because the disorder is
associated with advanced fruit maturity, earlier fruit harvesting may also reduce the problem.

Granulation is caused by gel formation within juice vesicles that greatly reduces extractable
juice content. It may occur primarily at the stem end (in ‘Valencia’ oranges), or extend through
the center of the fruit (in navel oranges). In the United States, this is considered a preharvest
disorder that appears more in fruit exposed to the sun, fruit from young or water-stressed trees,
overmature fruit, or fruit from vigorously growing trees. In other parts of the world, the disorder
also develops after harvest.

Oil spotting (oeocellosis) arises when mechanical damage releases oil from the oil glands. When
fruit are very turgid, even slight pressure from bumps and abrasions can result in oil release and
spotting. The oil is toxic to surrounding tissue and will inhibit degreening of that tissue.
Symptoms appear as irregularly shaped green, yellow, or brown spots that darken over time and
make the glands more prominent. The most effective means of prevention is not harvesting
turgid fruit early in the morning, when dew is present, during foggy conditions, or immediately
after rain or irrigation (Wardowski et al. 1997).

Postharvest pitting is characterized by clusters of collapsed oil glands (often 5 to 20) scattered
over the fruit surface. It can begin to develop 2 days after packing. Collapsed regions turn
bronze-brown or brown-black over time. This disorder is associated with low O 2 levels in fruit
following application of wax coating having low O2 permeability and holding at warm
temperatures >10 °C (50 °F; Petracek et al. 1998).

Rind staining is associated with physiologically overmature fruit that are easily injured by
mechanical abrasions, particularly navel oranges. Brown or reddish-brown blemishes develop 12
to 24 h after washing and waxing (Eaks 1964). In California, fruit are sprayed with gibberellic
acid to delay peel senescence and reduce incidence of this disorder.

Stem-end rind breakdown (SERB) is characterized by the irregular collapse and darkening of rind
tissue around the stem end of the fruit. A narrow ring of unaffected tissue immediately around
the stem (button) is a distinctive symptom of SERB. In some growing regions, SERB has been
correlated with a preharvest imbalance in nitrogen and potassium. Postharvest, SERB is
primarily associated with drying conditions and fruit water loss, particularly between harvest and
waxing. Postharvest practices that minimize water loss, such as maintaining high RH during
degreening, rapid handling, avoiding excessive brushing, and promptly applying an even coat of
wax, are currently the best means of reducing SERB.

Postharvest Pathology

Postharvest decay is the most important factor limiting shelf-life of oranges. Oranges are
susceptible to a wide variety of fungal diseases, including green mold (Penicillium digitatum),
blue mold (Penicillium italicum), diplodia stem-end rot (Diplodia natalensis), phomopsis stem-
end rot (Phomopsis citri), brown rot (Phytophthora citrophthora), sour rot (Geotrichum
candidum), and anthracnose rot (Colletotrichum gleosporioides).

Factors such as growing region, production practices, cultivar, rootstock, and postharvest
practices influence susceptibility to each of these pathogens. For example, stem-end rots are
more prevalent under environmental conditions found in Florida and Texas. Green mold
predominates in Florida, but blue mold does so in California. Postharvest decay can be reduced
by harvesting at optimum maturity, gently handling fruit during harvest and postharvest
operations, maintaining sanitary facilities and water handling systems, prompt cooling, storing at
optimum temperature and RH, and using approved fungicides or biological control agents.

Quarantine Issues

Oranges are a fruit fly host, and when produced in areas where any fruit fly is found, must be
treated for insect control before shipment to some markets. Approved disinfestation for oranges
include methyl bromide fumigation, cold treatments, and vapor heat treatments. Use of methyl
bromide is being phased out and will no longer be available by the year 2005. Cold treatments
are commonly used but may result in chilling injury. Use of irradiation and controlled
atmospheres are currently being evaluated as potential alternative disinfestation treatments.

All disinfestation treatments can result in phytotoxic injury to the fruit, with the degree of injury
depending on preharvest factors such as cultivar and stage of maturity. As an alternative to
disinfestation treatments, some production areas have established protocols that are accepted by
receiving markets for certifying “fly-free” areas. Oranges grown in these areas do not have to be
treated before shipment.

Suitability as Fresh-Cut Product

Consumers’ preference for peeled, sectioned, or cubed oranges that are ready to eat has driven
research and development of new technologies and equipment to help meet this demand. Fresh-
cut oranges can maintain quality for about 12 days, but mechanically removing the peel has been
problematic. Though there are several different peeling technologies developed or under
development, none is yet widely adopted.

References

AMS [USDA Agricultural Marketing Service]. 1969. United States Standards for Grades of
Oranges (Texas and States Other Than Florida, California and Arizona). U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Washington, DC.

AMS [USDA Agricultural Marketing Service]. 1997. United States Standards for Grades of
Florida Oranges and Tangelos. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.

AMS [USDA Agricultural Marketing Service]. 1999. United States Standards for Grades of
Oranges (California and Arizona). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.

Barmore, C.R., and G.E. Brown. 1985. Influence of ethylene on increased susceptibility of
oranges to Diplodia natalensis. Plant Dis. 69:228-230.

Brown, G.E. 1992. Factors affecting the occurrence of anthracnose on Florida citrus. Proc. Intl.
Soc. Citricult. 3:1044-1048.

California Department of Food and Agriculture. 1990. Administrative Code, Title 3. State of
California, Sacramento, CA.
Eaks, I.L. 1964. The effect of harvesting and packing house procedures on rind staining of
central California ‘Washington’ navel oranges. Proc. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 85:245-256.

Florida Department of Citrus. 1999. Official rules affecting the Florida citrus industry: pursuant
to Chap. 601. Florida Statutes, Lakeland, FL.

Hatton, T.T., and R.H. Cubbedge. 1977. Status of controlled-atmosphere storage research of
citrus fruit. In D.H. Dewey, ed., 2nd National Controlled Atmosphere Research Conference, pp.
250-259. Hort. Rpt. 28., Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

Kader, A.A., and M.L. Arpaia. 1992. Postharvest handling systems: subtropical fruits. In A.A.
Kader, ed., Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, 2nd ed., pp. 233-240. DANR Pub.
no. 3311, University of California, Davis, CA.

McGlasson, W.B., and I.L. Eaks. 1972. A role for ethylene in the development of wastage and
off-flavors in stored valencia oranges. HortScience 7:80-81.

Petracek, P.D., H. Dou,, and S. Pao. 1998. The influence of applied waxes on postharvest
physiological behavior and pitting of grapefruit. Postharv. Biol. Technol. 14:99-106.

Wardowski, W.F. 1996. Recommendations for degreening Florida fresh citrus fruits. Circular
1170, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, Gainesville, FL.

Wardowski, W.F., P.D. Petracek, and W. Grierson. 1997. Oil spotting (oleocellosis) of citrus
fruit. Circular 410, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science.

Whiteman, T.M. 1957. Freezing points of fruits, vegetables and florist stocks. Marketing
Research Report 196, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.

Acknowledgments

Some information included was taken from the University of California-Davis website “Fresh
Produce Facts” at http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/produce_information.

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Please send your suggestions and comments to [email protected].