Lemon plant named ‘BENEDICTO’

Abstract

‘BENEDICTO’ is an early, seedless, thin-skinned lemon. The tree is thornless on stems and shoots, with large leaves and short internodes, vigorous and high yield efficiency.

Claims

1. A new and distinct variety of lemon plant named ‘BENEDICTO’ substantially as illustrated and described herein.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a photograph showing a front view of a leaf of ‘BENEDICTO.’

(2) FIG. 2 is a photograph of a small piece of branch showing the leaves and the fruit emerging.

(3) FIG. 3 is a photograph showing a top view of a flower of ‘BENEDICTO.’

(4) FIG. 4 is a photograph showing the overall relatively dense and spreading growth habit of a typical specimen of the new cultivar that was grafted with this new variety in April 2015 and observation obtained during the growing season of 2021.

(5) FIG. 5 is a photograph showing a closer view of the foliage and the abundant formation of immature fruit that is in process of ripening while present on a typical specimen of the new cultivar that was grafted with this new variety in April 2015 and observation obtained during the growing season of 2021. The same or a comparable tree to that of FIG. 4 is being depicted.

(6) FIG. 6 is a photograph showing the fruit body of ‘BENEDICTO.’

(7) FIG. 7 is a photograph showing a cross-section attractive typical specimens of the mature fruit of ‘BENEDICTO’ at the time of harvest (typically during October).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(8) The described plants of the new cultivar had been asexually reproduced by grafting on Citrus macrophylla rootstock (non-patented) outdoors in full sunlight in the Alicante region of Spain. The new cultivar was grafted with this new variety in April 2015 and observations obtained during the growing season of 2021 are presented. Classification: Citrus lemon (L.) Burm. f. Breeding scheme: Spontaneous mutation of the ‘Fino 95’ lemon tree. Method of propagation of the variety: Vegetatively propagated by grafting on rootstock. Characteristics of the variety: Young leaf.—Presence of anthocyanin coloration: Present. Young leaf.—Intensity of anthocyanin coloration: Medium. Fruit length.—87.25±6.99 mm. Fruit diameter.—67.68±3.92 mm. Fruit.—Presence of neck: Absent. Fruit.—Presence of nipple: Present. Fruit surface.—Predominant color: Medium yellow, Group 150C, obtained from UPOV revision of document tgp/14: section 2: botanical terms: subsection 3: color: annex: Color names for The R.H.S. Color Chart. Fifty-Fourth Session Geneva, Oct. 29 and 30, 2018. Fruit.—Main color of flesh: Light yellow, Group 8C, obtained from UPOV revision of document tgp/14: section 2: botanical terms: subsection 3: color: annex: Color names for The R.H.S. Color Chart. Fifty-Fourth Session Geneva, Oct. 29 and 30, 2018. Parthenocarpy.—Present. Seedless.— Juiciness.—High. The growth habit of the claimed plant.—Upright. The position of the broadest part of the fruit.—At middle. The presence of depression at the stalk end.—Absent. The thickness of the fruit rind.—Medium. The oiliness of the fruit rind.—Medium. The glossiness of the fruit surface.—Medium. The polyembryony of the seed.—Seedless. The flowering habit of the plant.—Flowering more than once. The time of maturity of fruit for consumption.—Early/medium.

(9) The table below shows the physicochemical characteristics of the variety ‘BENEDICTO’ compared to the reference varieties ‘Fino 95’ and ‘Fino 49’ under homogeneous growing conditions on 25 Nov. 2021.

(10) TABLE-US-00001 Nov. 25, 2021 ‘Benedicto’ ‘Fino 95’ ‘Fino 49’ Weight (g) 184.26 ± 31.46  195.93 ± 28.71  154.34 ± 20.61  Diameter (mm) 67.68 ± 3.92  69.09 ± 4.42  64.50 ± 2.58  Esp corteza 5.75 ± 1.00 6.09 ± 0.86 5.00 ± 0.85 (mm) Crust thickness 99.46 ± 18.71 111.62 ± 19.44  82.50 ± 19.10 (g) Juiciness (mL/ 41.58 ± 5.29  37.74 ± 5.84  39.64 ± 8.76  100 g) SS (°Brix) 8.45 ± 0.21 8.55 ± 0.19 8.48 ± 0.41 AT (g ac cit/ 62.10 ± 4.32  56.57 ± 2.00  57.35 ± 2.94  100 mL) Maturity Index 1.37 ± 0.12 1.51 ± 0.08 1.48 ± 0.10