Citrus australasica, commonly referred to as finger lime, is an Australian citrus species distinguished by its elongated, cylindrical fruits and numerous small, spherical juice vesicles that resemble caviar. It is highly valued in the culinary industry for its unique appearance, diverse color variations, and distinctive flavor. Finger lime is tolerant to Huanglongbing (HLB), a devastating citrus disease, making it a promising source of resistance genes for developing HLB-tolerant rootstocks and scions. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of four of the best University of Florida-developed white pulp finger lime selections - KB1, KB29, KB37, and KB48. These 7-year-old accessions, growing at the University of Florida’s Tropical Research and Education Center campus, have excellent fruit size, robust tree health, and remain HLB negative under endemic HLB conditions. The fruit quality assessment (fruit weight, edible rate, fruit length, diameter, and pearl diameter) revealed that the KB37 selection was significantly superior, followed by the other three finger lime selections, with the lowest values observed in the control, DPI-50-36. Finger lime juice analysis indicated that TSS (total soluble solids) and acid content were almost similar across the four fruit lines, and this was significantly lower than the DPI-50-36 control. The phenolic activity was not statistically different between the selections, while the highest flavonoid activity was observed in KB29, followed by KB1 and KB37. The volatile profiles obtained from the four-finger lime selections were also evaluated. Overall, morphological and physicochemical parameters identified KB37 as the best-performing selection amongst the 4 evaluated. This analysis underscores the nutritional profile of these novel white-pulp finger limes, positioning them as a strong candidate for commercial cultivation for the specialty citrus industry.
