How to make pumelo (oriental grape fruit) to get sweet.
by
Tai N
+4
Hello,
Would you please help to tell me what to do in order to make my pumelo to get sweet. My pumelos start to bear fruit about 5 years. The very first year. It was very sweet and then, last year plus 3, 4 years before that,. it was not . Secondly, what you recommend to spray to kill the fungus and foliage problem.
Thank you very much
Tai Nguyen
Would you please help to tell me what to do in order to make my pumelo to get sweet. My pumelos start to bear fruit about 5 years. The very first year. It was very sweet and then, last year plus 3, 4 years before that,. it was not . Secondly, what you recommend to spray to kill the fungus and foliage problem.
Thank you very much
Tai Nguyen
7 answers
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Tai, perhaps you have been too eager to eat your pumelos. The article I've attached suggests that storing them for an extended period-even a couple of months-after harvesting will result in juicier fruit and more appealing flavor. Because it flourishes naturally at low altitudes close to the sea, there is some thought that salt water contributes to the flavor of the fruit. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/pummelo.html A copper fungicide can be used for most fungal diseases, but I would recommend you take a leaf to the Clay County Extension Office in Green Cove Springs for proper diagnosis before doing any spraying. They can also recommend a regular fertilization program for you. Good luck!
Douglas Hunt
on Feb 07, 2012
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Thank you for the suggestions but this doesn't answer my question because , I would like to find out what fertilizer do I need to use to make fruit to get sweet . Because, in Vietnam where I came from, this kind of fruit (Pummelo) is very sweet. Thank you very much.
Tai N
on Feb 12, 2012
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Tai, sorry, I do not know of any fertilizer that will change the flavor of citrus fruit. Its sweetness is usually a function of the weather, so perhaps the climate in Vietnam (I could go for a good banh mi right now) is more conducive to developing sweetness in the pummelo.
Douglas Hunt
on Feb 13, 2012
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Tai, today I asked a master gardener who has a pomelo tree about your problem. She said they are never really sweet here. She confirmed that there is no fertilizer or soil amendment to improve sweetness, but cold weather would help. I have a blood orange tree and think I am just going to have to live with the fact that they are less deep red because it is not cold enough to develop really good color. Fortunately, they still taste good.
Douglas Hunt
on Feb 16, 2012
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Thanks for the answers, but I'm still hoping for more ideas. Because, when I go to the oriental market locally here in town to buy them. They are so sweet. I understand they grow them in the south of Florida. I hope , one day we will find the good reason for that. Thank you very much.
Tai N
on Feb 16, 2012
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If I hear anything else I will let you know, and if you find out anything please share the information here.
Douglas Hunt
on Feb 17, 2012
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Tai, I know them as Som'o and always loved them. Why do you want them sweeter> They are great, maybe if you added just a bit of honey when you use them. I always appreciated the ease with which they could be peeled and the segments taken apart. Yum yum, yum.
Rose S
on Feb 17, 2012
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