Effect Of Harvesting Time On The Quantity Of Hesperidin In Citrus Trees In The North Of Iran

To investigate the effect of Citrus species and harvesting time on the quantity and quality of hesperidins, a falconoid used in medicine industries, an experiment was conducted at Citrus Research Institute located in Ramsar. The experiment was started in 1997 and repeated in 1998. The treatments consisted of four citrus species included Local orange (Citrus sinensis [L] Osbeck), Thomson Navel orange (Citrus sinensis [L] Osbeck), Clementine mandarin (Citrus reticulate Blanco) and Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marcovitch), and four harvest times, as the fruits harvested from June drop every ten days. Three trees were selected for each species as three replications in the base of two-factor completely randomized design. According to the results, harvest time had significant effect on hesperidin content. As the highest hesperidins content was obtained 50 to 60 days after full bloom. Results also showed that fallen fruits at June drop or due to drought and high temperature season can be used for extracting of hesperidins. Hesperidin yield was higher in Local orange and Clementine mandarin than the other cultivars. Because of the Local orange cultivated in large scale in the north of Iran, therefore it is a suitable source for production of hesperidin.