Building a genetic foundation for Australia’s citrus future

Abstract

The main highlight of this phase of the Australian Citrus Breeding program (CT15017 – Building a genetic foundation for Australia’s citrus future) was the release of two new mandarin varieties and their commercial adoption. Known as ‘Premier Murcott’ and ‘CB Murcott’ these new varieties were selected from large field populations of hybrids and then re-selected to reduce their seed number. The development of these two new varieties represent a concerted effort to combine attractive fruit appearance with good eating quality.

At project conclusion over 40,000 unique hybrids are growing in the field representing genetic combinations aimed at addressing all the traits required for commercially successful new citrus varieties.