Jujube quality management

Page last updated: Monday, 10 August 2020 - 11:49am

Please note: This content may be out of date and is currently under review.

This page aims to assist growers to consistently deliver quality jujubes to consumers.

Introduction

To maximise profits, jujube quality should be managed from selection of the orchard site through to transport to the market. There are many factors throughout production that will influence the quality of the product including:

Variety selections
Quality of propagating material
Irrigation and nutrition management
Training and pruning
Pest and disease control
Harvest
Postharvest storage, packaging and transport

Variety selections

There are currently around 15 jujube varieties grown in Australia. Some are fresh eating varieties, some are best for drying or processing while others are multipurpose. Selecting the right variety for your end product will be an important factor in the final quality of your fruit. Table 1 outlines the varieties available in WA and their best use.

The quality of the propagating material will also influence fruit quality. Detecting and treating diseases in nursery stock will ensure good quality planting material for the industry.

Planting a mixture of varieties with different maturity times will allow you to extend your season and manage at peak times such as harvest.

Table 1 Jujube varieties in Australia
Variety	Use	Characteristics
Li	Fresh	Large, mid-season ripening
Chico	Fresh	Fruit is round but flattened Excellent fresh fruit with an apple-like sweet-acid taste Good either fresh or dried Mid-late season ripening
Shanxi-Li	Fresh	Very large fruit
GA866	Fresh	Sweet fruit with a high sugar level Large, elongated fruit
Redlands	Fresh	Very large, sweet, round fruit Mid-season ripening
Silverhill	Fresh	Med-large, elongated fruit, very sweet Very late season ripening Good for humid areas
Sherwood	Fresh Dried	Fruit is very dense and excellent quality Late season
Honeyjar	Fresh Dried	Small but very unique, sweet tasting, crunchy, juicy fruit, very thin-skinned Early ripening Considered a fresh eating jujube but also good dried
Sihong	Fresh Dried Processed	Excellent, large, round fruit Mid-season ripening One of the best fresh varieties Also good processed or dried
Suimen/ Shuimen	Fresh Dried Processing	Fruit is elongated Fairly good fresh but better dried or processed Mid-season ripening
Lang	Dried Processing	Large, pear-shaped fruit Mid- late ripening Good variety for dried fruit, very good for processing Not suited for humid areas The tree is very upright and virtually thornless
Don-Polenski	Dried	Similar to Lang with a better, crisper flavour
Thornless	Dried	Fruit similar to Lang
Admiral Wilkes	Dried Processing	Elongated and very late ripening Best processed or dried

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Jujube quality management

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Introduction

Variety selections

Topics