May 1, 2015
There was a lot of odd looking, water-soaked Satsuma fruit showing up this year along the coast. It was showing up as late as March since fruit can hang so much longer along the coast than the Central Valley and hotter areas. It turns out its an abiotic issue and is more associated with the cooler, coastal environment. Recently a "Gold Nugget" mandarin came in that had a very similar look to the rind. This variety doesn't have immediate satsuma parentage, but who knows what is in its past. The disorder is most commonly associated with cool, foggy or rainy conditions. In the fall we had those conditions and maybe that's what set it off. Later, secondary fungi move in to colonize, the depressions that first occur.
