Eureka (lemon)
A true, thornless lemon bred in California in 1858 and grown in India for the fresh market, with small, mostly seedless fruit and tender, sour flesh.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Lemon & Lime
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant)
- Expected yield
- Medium
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Moderate
- Release
- Bred in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1858 — not an India-bred variety; grown in India as an internationally recognised commercial cultivar
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Eureka is a true lemon (Citrus limon) bred in Los Angeles, California, in 1858, and is believed to descend from the 'lunario' lemon brought from Italy in the early 1800s. It is an international variety grown in India, not one bred here. The tree is medium-vigorous, thornless and bears early, and fruits through the year with a main flush from late winter to early summer. The fruit is small, elliptical and mostly seedless, with moderately thick, smooth skin and greenish-yellow, tender, sour flesh that ripens to bright yellow.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Eureka if you want a true lemon (Citrus limon), not a kagzi lime, for the fresh market, and you are happy with an international variety that was not bred in India. The tree is medium-vigorous and thornless, bears early and fruits through the year with a main flush from late winter to early summer. The fruit is small, elliptical and mostly seedless with tender, sour flesh. No India yield figure is published, so the Medium card is only a guide. Choose Pant Lemon 1 or Kagzi Kalan for India-selected lemons, Lisbon for the other international option.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- Reports call Eureka highly productive, but that is relative to other lemons and no India yield figure is published, so do not budget on the word alone
- No India-specific disease or regional trial data was found, so try a small block before planting a large one
- Lemon is grown commercially in several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar, so you are not limited to Maharashtra
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Maharashtra
Decide lemon or lime before you plant
In most Indian markets, the small, thin-skinned kagzi (acid) lime sells in far larger volume than a true lemon. Eureka is a true lemon, Citrus limon, a different fruit with a different buyer.
Before you plant, find out who will take lemon from you, such as a hotel, a juice maker, a hypermarket or an exporter, and ask what they pay and what size and colour they want. If you cannot name a buyer, a kagzi lime variety like Vikram or Balaji is the safer start.
If you do have a lemon buyer, Eureka's tender, sour flesh and mostly seedless fruit are what they pay for. Keep its year-round fruiting in mind, because small, steady picking suits a regular buyer better than one big harvest.
Where the planting material comes from
This variety is budded onto a rootstock, not grown from seed. Seed out of its fruit will not come up as this variety, so it cannot be kept as seed. Buy budded plants from a registered nursery or a government farm, so the plant is true to the variety and free of disease.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Lemon & Lime variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assam Lemon (Kaji Nemu) | GI-tagged aromatic Assam lemon, large near-seedless fruit | Bearing from year 3–4 (grafted plant) | 100–130 q/ha at full bearing | Assam |
| Balaji | Leading Andhra Pradesh acid lime, round smooth juicy fruit | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | About 13.8 t/ha in a Karnataka trial | Andhra Pradesh |
| Eureka (lemon)this page | True thornless lemon with tender, sour, mostly seedless fruit | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | Medium | Maharashtra |
| Kagzi Kalan | True lemon bearing twice a year, for fresh and juice use | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | Medium–high | West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh |
| Lisbon (lemon) | Clean-looking international true lemon, unproven yield in India | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | Medium | Maharashtra |
| Pant Lemon 1 | University-selected lemon from Kagzi Kalan for the Tarai belt | Bearing from year 3–4 (grafted plant) | 150–180 q/ha at full bearing | Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab |
| Pramalini (Kagzi lime) | Tall, many-fruited acid lime with mid-range trial yield | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | About 12.5 t/ha in a Karnataka trial | Andhra Pradesh |
| Sai Sharbati | Private-nursery acid lime with larger, very tart fruit | Bearing from year 3 (grafted plant) | About 9.8 t/ha in a Karnataka trial | Andhra Pradesh |
| Vikram (Kagzi lime) | Best-yielding acid lime in recent trials, with long shelf life | Bearing from year 3–4 (grafted plant) | 120–150 q/ha at full bearing | Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Lemon & Lime is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Lemon & Lime plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Lemon & Lime variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Lemon & Lime into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Lemon & Lime rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Lemon & Lime seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Where did Eureka lemon originate?
Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1858 — believed to descend from the "lunario" lemon brought from Italy in the early 1800s. It is an internationally recognised variety, not one bred in India.
What does Eureka fruit look like?
Small and elliptical, with moderately thick, smooth skin, greenish-yellow tender and sour flesh, ripening to bright yellow — mostly seedless or with very few seeds.
When does Eureka lemon fruit?
It bears fruit year-round, with the main harvest flush occurring from late winter to early summer.
Which Indian states grow Eureka lemon commercially?
Commercial lemon production including Eureka is reported across Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar.
How productive is the Eureka lemon tree?
Reports call it highly productive with rapid entry into fruiting, but that is relative to other lemons and no India yield figure is published. Count fruit per tree in a small trial block before you budget on the word alone.
How is a true lemon different from a kagzi (acid) lime?
A true lemon is Citrus limon, usually larger with a thicker rind and a more tender sour flesh. Kagzi or acid lime is Citrus aurantifolia, small and thin-skinned. Choose by what your buyer asks for, because they are not interchangeable in the market.
Is the Eureka tree thorny?
Sources describe the tree as thornless and medium-vigorous. That makes picking and pruning easier than a thorny lime, though you should still watch for new shoots and leaf miner.
Why does the card only say Medium for yield?
No India yield figure for Eureka was found. Reports call the tree productive, but that is relative to other lemons. Plant a small trial block, count fruit per tree for two seasons, and then decide on a larger block.
Eureka or Lisbon?
Both are international true lemons grown in India. Eureka is small, elliptical and mostly seedless, with a main flush from late winter to early summer. Lisbon is medium to large, oblong, with a prominent nipple, and fruits inside the canopy. Try both in a small block, and keep the one that sells better.
Which states grow Eureka lemon?
Commercial lemon, including Eureka, is reported across Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar. Maharashtra is the listed state, but you are not limited to it.
Sourced from: Minor fruits, TNAU Agritech Portal (lists Eureka among the lemon varieties). editorial policy.