Trovita Orange

Trovita is presumed to have originated around 1916 at Riverside from fallen fruit thought to be Washington navel. UCR separately lists receipt of the seedling in 1915, an unresolved accession-record inconsistency. Howard B. Frost selected the seedling in 1928, named it Trovita, and UCR records its release in 1935.^⁠[1]

Trovita fruit is broad as long or longer than broad, with orange flesh, a firm leathery rind, and no navel. Compared with Washington navel, UCR describes it as smaller, juicier, milder, and earlier. Its 1967 description calls it few-seeded, while a 1988 collection note calls it seedy.^⁠[4]⁠[1]

Reports describe different growing settings and fruit: a North Saanich grower reported a roughly four-foot tree carrying about a bucket and a half of fruit; a Tucson grower called the juice “very very sweet”; and informal greenhouse tastings noted some seeds and thick rind in one three-fruit batch, while another single fruit was described as very very juicy and very sweet. UCR lists Riverside ripening from December to February; Nature Hills gives a late-February-to-Thanksgiving picking season, but the speaker’s location and regional relevance are unknown.^{⁠[5]⁠[6]⁠[8]⁠[9]⁠[1]⁠[7]}

UCR describes Trovita trees as vigorous and upright, prone to alternate bearing, and more productive under desert conditions.^⁠[1]