Valencia orange

A Valencia orange

The Valencia Orange is an orange first created by the Californian agronomist William Wolfskill, on his farm in Santa Ana. Its name comes from the Spanish city of Valencia, widely known for its excellent orange trees. The orange was later sold to the Irvine Company, who would dedicate nearly half of their land to its cultivation. The success of this crop in Southern California likely led to the naming of Orange County. The Irvine Company's Valencia operation later split from the company and became Sunkist. Cultivation of the Valencia in Orange County had all but ceased by the mid-1990s due to rising property costs, which drove most of what remained of the Southern California juice orange industry into Florida.

Primarily grown for processing and juice production, Valencia oranges have seeds, varying in number from zero to six per fruit. However, its excellent taste and internal color make it desirable for the fresh markets, too. The fruit has an average diameter of 2.7 to 3 inches (70 - 76 mm). After bloom, it usually carries two crops on the tree, the old and the new. The commercial harvest season in Florida runs from March to June. Worldwide, Valencia oranges are prized as the only variety of orange in season during summer.

References

• Valencia Oranges at Southwest Florida Research & Education Center University of Florida
• HOME FRUIT PRODUCTION-ORANGES at Texas Cooperative Extension Texas A&M Horticulture program
• Sweet Oranges (including Valencia Oranges: Campbell Valencia orange, Cutter Valencia orange, Delta Valencia orange, Midknight Valenica orange, Olinda Valencia orange at University of California Riverside Citrus Variety Collection