The seasonal variation of the sensorial characteristics of 'Ponkan' tangerine fruits grown on 'Rangpur' and 'Rough of Africa' lemons, 'Oneco' tangerine, 'Morton' citrange and 'Swingle 4475' citrumelo, was studied during the crop of 1999/2000. It was analyzed the sensorial characteristics of pulpy segment of the fruit: the aspect, taste, sweetness, acidity, sweetness/acidity ratio and succulence. It was also evaluated the whole of sensorial characteristics by the criterion Note. It was verified that the rootstocks affected differently the sensorial characteristics of the 'Ponkan' tangerine. The rootstock induced differences in the sensorial characteristics of the fruit, allowing defining its classification by the sensorial profile. The classification of the fruits by the Note criterion led to the following results: very good during the periods from May 16 until June 27 for the 'Morton' citrange rootstock, from May 16 until June 20, for 'Oneco' tangerine; from May 23 until July 4, for 'Rough of Africa' lemon; from May 16 until June 6 for 'Swingle 4475' citrumelo and at June 27 for 'Rangpur' lime; and good during the periods from June 20 until June 27 for the 'Oneco' tangerine rootstock; from May 23 until June 13 for 'Rough of Africa' lemon; from June 6 until June 27 for 'Swingle 4475' citrumelo and from June 13 until June 20 for 'Rangpur' lime.
Sensorial characteristics; Tangerine; Ponkan; Rootstock
