Okitsu

Okitsu or Okitsu Wase (Wase being the early group of Satsumas) is an early season Satsuma with smooth pale yellow peel, and plump, juicy flesh. It is one of the most popular Satsumas in Japan, and is also the leading early Satsuma in Spain, Argentina and Uruguay.

Quality:

• Satsumas can be quite soft mandarins with fairly thick peel that adheres quite loosely. However, excessively loose peel should be avoided, as should fruit with tight, hard peel.
• The first Satsumas of the season, particularly from Spain, are usually quite tart, but the acids soon reduce after the first week or so.
• Another early season problem is degreening burn/discolouration, which is the result of sensitive green fruit being coloured in a degreening chamber. This can look unsightly, usually as an subsurface blackening of peel, though the segments are not affected.

Names: Citrus unshiu Marcovitch; Okitsu; Okitsu Wase

Origin: Derived from the Miyagawa Wase by Doctors M. Kajiura and T. Iwasaki at the Horticultural Research Station in 1940, like it’s sister Miho, Okitsu was released in Japan in 1963 for commercial production. Okitsu was introduced to Spain in 1980.

Grown in: Spain, Japan, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa

Harvest & Availability:

• January:
• February:
• March: Argentina, Uruguay
• April: Peru, Argentina, Uruguay
• May: Peru, Argentina, Uruguay
• June: Peru
• July:
• August:
• September: Spain
• October: Spain
• November:
• December: