Citruses

a group of plants of the genus Citrus that are cultivated for their fruit, which is sometimes also called citrus. About 28 species are cultivated, including the orange (C. sinensis), grapefruit (C. paradisi), mandarin (C. reticulata), lemon (C. limon), bergamot (C. bergamia), citron (C. medica), and lime (C. aurantifola).

Citrus fruits are tasty. They contain citric acid, sugar, vitamin C (more than 60 mg percent), vitamin P, B-group vitamins, and carotene (provitamin A). They are used fresh or are processed into juice, preserves, candied fruit, and liqueurs; they are also used in cooking. Essential oil is obtained from the rind, flowers, and leaves; the essential oil content is 2–3.5 percent. The oil is used in the perfume and food industries. The most common citruses are the orange, mandarin, grapefruit, and lemon. The main areas of cultivation are in the USA, China (southern and central regions), Japan, India, Pakistan, Australia, and the Mediterranean countries. World citrus production was 24.5 million tons from 1961 to 1965, 34.9 million tons in 1970, and 39.7 million tons in 1975.

In the USSR the commercial cultivation of citruses is concentrated in western Georgia, with the plants occupying more than 90 percent of the total planted area. Mandarins, oranges, lemons, and grapefruit are cultivated there on open ground. Mandarins are cultivated in Lenkoran’ Raion, Azerbaijan SSR, but they must be covered during severe winters. There are small citrus plantings near Sochi. A great deal of work on the acclimatization of lemons and oranges has been done in Tadzhikistan, where irrigated trench cultivation has been developed.

Citrus fruit production in 1976 was 112,400 tons.