For more information visit our website www.agric.wa.gov.

au
The Chief Executive Ofcer of the Department of Agriculture and Food and the State of Western Australia accept no liability
whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.
Important Disclaimer
Maturity standards
Standards referred to in this Farmnote are set each
year by the Director General of the Department of
Agriculture and Food, Western Australia in consultation
with industry. Standards for the current year can be
found at the following websites: www.agric.wa.gov.au
or www.wafga.com.au
The standards provide acceptable levels for sugar-acid
ratio, total soluble solids (percentage sugar or Brix)
and percentage juice content. The requirements vary
between fruit types and all must be met before harvest
and marketing of fruit. Minimum acceptable maturity
standards for all citrus types are enforceable under the
Citrus Fruits Grading Code 2008.
Collecting a fruit sample
When collecting fruit for testing it is important that
the sample you collect represents what you will be
harvesting. If for example you select pick mandarins,
Measuring internal maturity of citrus
By Kevin Lacey,

Nathan Hancock

and Helen Ramsey
Note: 354
March 2009
collect fruit for your sample that reects the fruit you
will be select picking i.e. the same size/colour. If you are
strip picking, remember to sample all sides of the tree
as well as fruit from inside the canopy. It is important to
remember variations in your farm, such as topography
and soil type, when collecting a sample, as they may
have an effect on ripening. Collect a minimum of ten
fruit per variety to be tested; the more fruit tested the
more accurate the test is.
Equipment and chemical suppliers
There are many suppliers who can provide the necessary
equipment and chemicals to carry out maturity testing
on citrus. These can be located in the Laboratory
Equipment &/or Supplies section of the Yellow
Pages

.
Equipment required to carry out testing
50 millilitre auto-ll burette with a 1-litre squeeze
bottle
Left to right, back: digital scales, 2 L beaker, sieve, 1 L volumetric ask, 0.1 Normal sodium hydroxide (NaOH), 1% Phenolphthalein indicator.
Middle: juicer, 1 L beaker, 100 ml beaker, refractometers. Front: 50 ml burette, knife, 10 ml pipette and pump.
10 millilitre pipette and pump
0.1 Normal sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
Distilled water
1% Phenolphthalein indicator or a pH meter
Good quality scales with 1-gram graduations
Fruit juicer, juice onlyno rind
Fine plastic strainer
100 millilitre conical ask or 100 millilitre beaker
1 to 2 litre jug or beaker
Refractometer (digital or hand-held prism, temperature
compensating) 0-32% range
Fruit testing procedures
There are three internal maturity parameters you must
meet and should test before harvest: juice content, total
soluble solids and citric acid content (used to calculate
sugar-acid ratio).
Step 1: Juice contentpercentage juice
empty jug on the scales and zero the scales prior to
adding the juice.
Step 2: Total soluble solidspercentage sugar or
Brix
Sugar levels are a commonly used measurement in a
wide range of crops.

As the esh of fruit forms it deposits
nutrients as starch that, as the fruit ripens, transform to
sugars. The percentage sugar, measured in degrees Brix
(Brix), indicates the sweetness of the fruit by measuring
the number of soluble solids in the juice.
Procedure (hand-held refractometer)
Direct the refractometer to a good light source.
Digital refractometer.
Juice content is an important measurement of internal
quality. Under or over-ripe fruit tend to be less juicy,
which directly affects eating quality.
Procedure
Weigh your ten fruit and record the combined weight
in grams.
Weigh the empty 1 or 2-litre jug and record the
weight in grams.
Juice all ten fruit using the juicer. Apply even force
and try to remove all the juice.
Strain the juice into the jug.
Weigh the juice and record the weight in grams, then
subtract the weight of the jug.
Calculate percentage juice content by dividing the
juice weight by the total fruit weight. Multiply this by
100 to get the percentage.
Example calculation
Fruit weight = 600 grams
Juice weight* = 300 grams
Juice weight Fruit weight x 100 = percentage juice
300 600 x 100 = 50%
Note* Remember to subtract the weight of the jug from
the weight of the juice and jug. Alternatively place the
Ensure the refractometer prism surface (glass) is
clean and dry.
Place a small amount of the fresh juice (a couple of
drops is sufcient) onto the prism.
Look through the eyepiece while pointing the prism
in the direction of good light (caution: not directly
at the sun).
Focus the eyepiece and take the reading where the
base of the blue colour sits on the scalethis reading
is the samples Brix.
Clean the refractometer immediately with a damp
tissue, and dry thoroughly.
Note: If you are using a digital refractometer place two
drops of fresh juice on the prism (glass) and record the
reading. Clean the prism immediately after use.
Weigh sample and record results; tare or zero the scales when using
a tray.
hydroxide you have added to the ask. Multiply the
gure you have recorded by 0.064 to give you the
citric acid level of your sample.
Example calculation
Amount of NaOH added = 24.2 millilitres
Millilitres of NaOH x 0.064

= citric acid concentration
(grams per 100 millilitres)
24.2 x 0.064 = 1.55 grams per 100 millilitres citric
acid.
Calculate the sugar-acid ratiosee Step 4
Note* The rst few times you do this procedure it may
be difcult to see the colour-change point. If you look
closely you will see the juice mix slowly lighten in colour,
almost becoming clear and then change to a light green
colour. This is the point just before the end of the test
and a few extra drops of the sodium hydroxide will make
the solution turn pink. If you go past this point and the
solution changes from a pink colour to a deep purple/
orange, you have added to much sodium hydroxide
and you will need to empty the conical flask and
begin again.
Step 3: Citric acid content
Citric acid gives citrus its tartness and is in highest
concentrations early in the season, decreasing as the
fruit mature. Citric acid content can be determined
using two methods: a) using a chemical indicator called
phenolphthalein, or b) using a pH meter. Both methods
involve titration, which means adding a solution of known
concentration to a solution of unknown concentration
until a desired reaction is achieved.
Procedure (a) using phenolphthalein
Adding the 1% Normal sodium hydroxide to the solution. Note the
swirl of pink in the sample
Auto-ll burettesimply squeeze the bottle to ll the burette.
Draw 10 millilitres of juice into the pipette and transfer
the juice to a clean conical ask. Clean the pipette
immediately after transferring the juice.
Add three to four drops of phenolphthalein indicator
to the conical ask and carefully swish mixture.
Squeeze the burette ll bottle, containing 0.1 Normal
sodium hydroxide (NaOH), to ll the burette.
Open the burettes tap and allow a trickle of NaOH
to run into an empty beaker. This is to ensure no air
is trapped in the burette prior to use.
Squeeze the burette ll bottle again until the NaOH
level in the burette reads zero at the top of the
scale.
Hold the conical ask containing the juice mix under
the burette and while swirling the ask slowly add the
NaOH to the juice by opening the burettes tap.
Keep swirling the flask while adding NaOH, until
the solution just starts to turn pink*. As soon as the
solution turns pink close the burettes tap. Look at the
scale on the burette and record how much sodium
ISSN 0726-934X
Copyright Western Australian Agriculture Authority, 2009
Procedure (b) using a pH meter
Draw 10 millilitres of juice into the pipette and transfer
to a clean beaker. Clean the pipette immediately after
transferring the juice.
Carefully place pH meter probe into the solution and
turn on (remember to calibrate the pH meter rst if
required).
Squeeze the burette ll bottle, containing 0.1 Normal
sodium hydroxide (NaOH), to ll the burette.
Open burettes tap and allow a trickle of NaOH to
run into an empty beaker. This is to ensure no air is
trapped in the burette prior to use.
Squeeze the burette ll bottle again until the NaOH
level in the burette reads zero at the top of the
scale.
Hold the beaker containing the juice mixture under
the burette and while swirling the beaker, slowly add
the NaOH to the juice.
Keep swirling the beaker whilst slowly adding NaOH
to the solution until it reaches a pH of 8.2. Look at the
scale on the burette and record how much sodium
hydroxide you have added to the ask. Multiply the
gure you have recorded by 0.064this is the citric
acid level of your sample.
Example calculation
Amount of NaOH added = 24.2 millilitres
Millilitres of NaOH x 0.064

= citric acid concentration
(grams per 100 millilitres)
24.2 x 0.064 = 1.55 grams per 100 millilitres citric
acid.
Calculate the sugar-acid ratiosee Step 4
Step 4: Sugar-acid ratio
The sugar-acid ratio contributes to the unique avour
of citrus. At the beginning of the ripening process the
sugar-acid ratio is low, because of low sugar content
092397-03/09-ID10133
and high fruit acid contentthis makes the fruit taste
sour. During the ripening process the fruit acids are
degraded, the sugar content increases and the sugar-
acid ratio achieves a higher value.
Procedure
Calculate the sugar-acid ratio by dividing the Brix
identified in Step 2 by the citric acid concentration
identied in Step 3. This will give you the sugar-acid
ratio of your sample.
Example calculation (sugar-acid ratio)
Sugar concentration = 15.2 Brix
Citric acid concentration = 1.55 g per 100 millilitres
Brix Citric acid concentration = sugar-acid ratio
15.2 1.55 = 9.8 sugar-acid ratio
Summary
In summary, the steps for carrying out maturity testing
on citrus are:
Collect a representative sample of at least ten fruit for
each variety to be tested. Remember that the more fruit
you test and the more representative the sample, the
more accurate your result will be.
Determine the percentage juice content of the fruit (juice
weight divided by fruit weight multiplied by 100).
Determine the sugar level using a refractometer
(percentage total soluble solids or Brix).
Determine the acid level by titrating 10 millilitres of juice
with 0.1 Normal sodium hydroxide.
Calculate the sugar-acid ratio (Brix divided by citric
acid concentration).
Compare your test results with the standards. If any
standard is not attained, the fruit are not mature and
should not be harvested.