Tacle, the red mandarin between Tarocco and clementine

The Tacle combines the taste of Tarocco orange with the sweetness of Monreal clementine. Born from public citrus research in Acireale (Catania, Sicily), it is a hybrid that is almost seedless and easy to peel, with a pulp that turns red in winter (Rapisarda et al., 2008). It was selected in Sicily, but is now cultivated mainly in the plains of northern Calabria (Grande et al., 2021).

What is Tacle and how it was born

The Tacle is a triploid hybrid between the clementine Monreal and theTarocco orange. It was established by the then Experimental Institute for Citrus Growing of Acireale, now part of the Council for Agricultural Research and Agricultural Economic Analysis (CREA) (Rapisarda et al., 2008). The name recalls the two parent varieties (Gaglianò et al., 2023). AND a mandarin-like citrus fruit: it has the appearance and practicality of a mandarin, but in its own way genetic heritage there is also thesweet orange. Tacle is also a registered trademark (Grande et al., 2021). In Australia the variety is protected by a plant variety right (Monks & Sanderson, 2020).

A plant triploid It has three sets of chromosomes, rather than the usual two. For over forty years, the CREA of Acireale has been crossing diploid mandarins with the tetraploid Tarocco, which has four as standard. The result is triploid hybrids, sterile and therefore seedless. However, triploidy has an agronomic cost: le plant they are more vigorous, thorny and slow to enter production (Licciardello, 2021).

In the Tacle the thorns cover the foliage from the trunk to the external branches and hinder harvesting. In Italy we intervene with pruning and the form of training. In Australia, thorniness has slowed commercial interest, and yields in experimental fields have remained low (Monks & Sanderson, 2020).

Zest, pulp and flavour

The fruit And juicy And peels easily. It has the taste of Tarocco and the sweetness of Monreal clementine. There reddish pulp it is due to anthocyanins, the same pigments as blood oranges (Rapisarda et al., 2008).

In the Australian trials the fruit weighed an average of 178 grams, with a diameter of 80 millimeters and slightly wrinkled orange-red skin. It contained less than one seed per fruit, 53% juice, 11.7 degrees Brix and an acidity of 1.2%. Some fruits have a small neck, such as the Tarocco (Monks & Sanderson, 2020).

In the study in the center of Acireale the yield in juice it was instead of 39%. Tacle juice also contained much less vitamin C than Clara juice, the hybrid born from the same cross (Rapisarda et al., 2008). Data collected in different environments and years are not directly comparable, but show how much the quality of the fruit depends on the place of cultivation.

The cold and the red color of the pulp

In red mandarins made up of CREA, anthocyanins accumulate from mid-December, stimulated by low temperatures (Caruso et al., 2026). The color of the pulp it therefore varies with the year and the area. In Australia the fruits did not become pigmented in the field, neither inside nor outside. Cold storage induced color, but less intense than that of Early Sicily red mandarin (Monks & Sanderson, 2020).

Even in the Italian study the storage in the fridge it increased anthocyanins and others polyphenols of the juice: 104 days at 6 degrees. However, the juice yield dropped by 11-14% (Rapisarda et al., 2008). Milder winters are reducing the accumulation of anthocyanins in the varieties available today. For this reason, CREA works on red mandarins which require less cold (Caruso et al., 2026).

Where Tacle is grown

The Tacle was selected in Sicily, but it is cultivated mainly in the plains of Northern Calabria (Grande et al., 2021). The fruits harvested in December 2020 for a study by the University of Calabria come from companies in Francavilla Marittima, in the province of Cosenza (Grande et al., 2021). The juice analyzed by the same university with the Institute for Membrane Technology of the National Research Council also comes from there (Gaglianò et al., 2023).

Composition and research, what we know

With nuclear magnetic resonance they were identified in the aqueous phase of the juice 25 metabolites: sugars, amino acids and organic acids, among which thecitric acid. The profile was almost identical to that of the parent varieties, with minimal traces of fatty acids. Membrane ultrafiltration clarified the juice while preserving its composition, while nanofiltration concentrated polyphenols and flavonoids. These are alternative techniques to thermal treatments, which degrade pigments and vitamins (Gaglianò et al., 2023).

Two other studies from the University of Calabria examined peel and pulp extracts, rich in the flavonoids naringin and hesperidin. In the laboratory the extracts showed antioxidant activity and inhibited the enzymes that digest starches and fats. The authors also report tests on rats (Casacchia et al., 2019). A second work observed the inhibition of a key enzyme in the synthesis of cholesterol in a test tube. Computer simulations indicate that two compounds from the extract bind to the enzyme in a similar manner to statins (Grande et al., 2021).

These results However, they do not demonstrate a benefit for those who consume the fruit. The extracts were obtained with solvents and tested on isolated enzymes, computer models and animals, and none of these studies involved people. Health claims, in the European Union, are permitted only if authorized and included in the European lists (EC regulation 1924/2006, art. 10.1). Furthermore, specific composition tables for Tacle are missing, and the nutritional values ​​of oranges and clementines cannot be transferred to this hybrid.

How to choose and use the Tacle

When purchasing, it is best to look for the name of the variety on the sign or packaging and verify the origin. Intact fruits must be chosen, without mould, lesions or soft areas, to be kept in a cool place, checking their condition periodically.

Tacle is mainly consumed fresh. The segments enrich winter fruit salads and salads with fennel, radicchio or other vegetables. The juice gives a sweet and acidic note to dressings, sorbets and desserts.

The certified product biological guarantees compliance with the highest standards of protection of ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as the absence of use of synthetic pesticides.

For the professional buyers, in addition to the size, what matters is maturation, peelability, integrity, juiciness and shelf life. Pigmentation must be evaluated together with the other characteristics of the lot: it depends on the cold of the year and increases with refrigeration, which however reduces the juice (Rapisarda et al., 2008).

Research on red mandarins

Alongside Tacle and Early Sicily, already on the market, CREA has recently distributed other red pulp mandarins: Galatea, Red Sunset and Aretusa. Crossbreeding programs aim for more productive, easy-to-peel, seedless fruits and plants that are more resistant to diseases, such as brown spot caused by the fungus. Alternaria alternata. Plants whose fruits color intensely and uniformly from mid-November have already been selected. Future red-fleshed varieties could thus ripen about a month earlier than current ones (Caruso et al., 2026).

Dario Dongo

References

Scientific studies

Casacchia, T., Occhiuzzi, M. A., Grande, F., Rizzuti, B., Granieri, M. C., Rocca, C., Gattuso, A., Garofalo, A., Angelone, T., & Statti, G. (2019). A pilot study on the nutraceutical properties of the Citrus hybrid Tacle® as a dietary source of polyphenols for supplementation in metabolic disorders. Journal of Functional Foods, 52, 370–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2018.11.030

Gaglianò, M., De Luca, G., Conidi, C., & Cassano, A. (2023). NMR-based characterization of Citrus Tacle juice and low-level NMR and UV—Vis data fusion for monitoring its fractions from membrane-based operations. Antioxidants, 12(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12010002

Grande, F., Occhiuzzi, M. A., Perri, M. R., Ioele, G., Rizzuti, B., Statti, G., & Garofalo, A. (2021). Polyphenols from Citrus Tacle® extract endowed with HMGCR inhibitory activity: An antihypercholesterolemia natural remedy. Molecules, 26(18), 5718. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26185718

Technical sources and varietal documentation

Monks, D., & Sanderson, G. (2020). Tacle mandarin (Primefact 1750). NSW Department of Primary Industries. https://dpird-web.matrix.squiz.cloud/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1206176/Tacle-mandarin.pdf

Rapisarda, P., Bellomo, S. E., Fabroni, S., & Russo, G. (2008). Juice quality of two new mandarin-like hybrids (Citrus clementina Hort. ex Tan × Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) containing anthocyanins. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56(6), 2074–2078. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf072616e

Institutional sources

Caruso, M., Cortese, M., Russo, R., & Arlotta, C. (2026, May 30). New CREA/2 varieties: citrus fruits. CREATE Future. https://creafuturo.crea.gov.it/17216/

Licciardello, C. (2021, May 20). The CITRUS project implements sustainable biotechnology to improve the quality of citrus fruit. CREATE Future. https://creafuturo.crea.gov.it/2307/

European Union regulatory sources

Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. Consolidated text: 12/13/2014. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/1924/2014-12-13