Aspects of growth, development and quality of citrus fruit in Colorado do Oeste, RO, Brasil have not been investigated. This study aimed to evaluate growth and physicochemical quality of Tahiti lime at different development stages, without irrigation. The experiment was conducted at the "Instituto Federal de Rondônia" (IFRO), Campus Colorado do Oeste, RO, in 2006, 2007 and 2008, with monitoring of the harvest years 2006/2007 and 2007/2008. Eight periods of fruit development were analyzed for each crop, from the post-flowering phase to the harvest. The total heat in degree-days, balance of photothermic units and effective rain were determined. Meteorological conditions influenced the duration of the development period and fruit quality in the 2006/2007 harvest. On the other hand, there was no significant difference for weight and size, acidity and average yield of juice in the 2007/08 harvest. Fruit size and weight, pH, soluble solids, acidity, soluble solids and acidity ratio, technological index and content of vitamin C showed suitable quality for commercial standards required by the fresh fruit market and industry. Juice yield of fruit harvested in 2006/2007 met quality standards for fresh fruit or industrial market, but not for the 2007/2008 harvest that had low juice yield, probably because of the lower rainfall during this cropping season. The technological index found for both harvests is below the value required by the industry.
Climate seasonality; degree-day; fruit growth; season
