In citrus, fruit cracking begins as small cracks in the outer colored skin layer, usually at the styler-end of the fruit opposite the stalk. As the cracks extend into the albedo and towards the fruit equator, they can tear the vascular bundles and cause pulp cracking and fruit drop starting in late summer and continuing for several months. Some cultivars, like Nova mandarin, are more susceptible to cracking than others due to their genetic and anatomical characteristics affecting fruit properties. However, cracking has become a bigger problem even for previously resilient varieties like Ori mandarin in recent years. This may be due to new hybrid cultivars being more prone to splitting, making it crucial to find effective solutions to this issue.