Performance of Exotic Sweet Orange Germplasm for Varietal Improvement in Bangladesh

A study was conducted using four exotic sweet orange germplasms (CS Jai-003, CS Jai-012, CS Jai-051 and CS Jai-209) along with BARI Malta-1 as check variety. These were evaluated over three consecutive seasons (2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24) at the Citrus Research Station, BARI, Jaintapur, Sylhet. There was no significant difference among the germplasm in terms of tree height, base girth and tree volume across the three fruiting seasons. A significant variation in fruit count per tree was observed. In 2021–22, CS Jai-209 (74.13), CS Jai-012 (73.15), and BARI Malta-1 (72.46) had the highest fruit counts, while CS Jai-003 (76.68) led in 2022–23, and BARI Malta-1 recorded the highest in 2023–24 (80.05). CS Jai-051 consistently had the lowest fruit count across all three years. The maximum fruit weight was recorded in CS Jai-051 (259.65g, 292.10g and 284.51g) for the respective years while the minimum was observed in CS Jai-209 (146.70g, 136.17g, and 142.91g). Regarding yield per plant, CS Jai-003 produced the highest yields (15.94 kg, 17.38 kg, and 16.07 kg, respectively). In contrast, CS Jai-209 had the lowest yields (10.86 kg, 8.92 kg, and 9.82 kg) over the same period. CS Jai-051 exhibited the highest juice content (39.63%, 38.51%, and 38.38%) while CS Jai-209 consistently showed the lowest values (27.90%, 30.01%, and 32.08%) across the three years. Total Soluble Solids were the highest in CS Jai-003 (11.13%, 11.30%, and 11.06%) while the lowest TSS was found in CS Jai-209 (11.13%, 11.30%, and 11.06%). Titratable acidity (TA) varied between 0.34% to 0.88% with CS Jai-209 showing significantly higher acidity and CS Jai-051 the lowest. Therefore, based on fruit quality, CS Jai-003 and CS Jai-051 are suitable for fresh fruit consumption. Additionally, due to its larger fruit size, CS Jai-051 holds potential as a breeding parent for developing high-yielding sweet orange varieties. Both CS Jai-003 and CS Jai-051 have the potential to be released as high-yielding varieties.