Articles
A low-seeded ‘Nadorcott’ cultivar from the South African citrus breeding program at the ARC
Article number
1448_12
Pages
97 – 104
Language
English
Abstract
‘Nadorcott’ mandarin is a popular late mandarin cultivar.
Its attractive orange rind, good eating quality and excellent bearing capacity have made it a favourite for both consumers and producers alike. ‘Nadorcott’ is self-incompatible and without cross pollination the fruits are seedless.
However, if cross-pollinated by other cultivars, ‘Nadorcott’ can become very seedy.
Seedy fruit have become unacceptable to consumers and the market is seeking seedless mandarin fruit.
At the South African Agricultural Research Council’s Tropical and Subtropical Crops (ARC-TSC) campus, the Citrus Mutation Breeding programme is used to improve citrus cultivars by altering one or two major traits.
The characteristics most frequently altered are seedlessness, internal and external pigmentation and fruit rind thickness.
Selection ‘ARCCIT9’ is a new low-seeded cultivar released from the Citrus Mutation Breeding programme at the ARC-TSC as an essentially derived variety (EDV) from ‘Nadorcott’, owned by the Nadorcott Protection Agency (NCP). However, unlike ‘Nadorcott’ that can become very seedy when cross-pollinated, ‘ARCCIT9’ is mostly seedless even under high cross-pollination pressure. ‘ARCCIT9’ also contains very little pollen with low pollen viability, compared with ‘Nadorcott’ which has very aggressive pollen and causes seeds in other cultivars. ‘ARCCIT9’ is therefore an excellent alternative to ‘Nadorcott’ where cross pollination poses a threat to neighbouring cultivars in terms of seediness. ‘ARCCIT9’ was awarded Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) in South Africa (ZA20155936) on October 28, 2013. This cultivar has been widely propagated in South Africa and PBR has been applied for in many of the citrus-producing areas worldwide.
Its attractive orange rind, good eating quality and excellent bearing capacity have made it a favourite for both consumers and producers alike. ‘Nadorcott’ is self-incompatible and without cross pollination the fruits are seedless.
However, if cross-pollinated by other cultivars, ‘Nadorcott’ can become very seedy.
Seedy fruit have become unacceptable to consumers and the market is seeking seedless mandarin fruit.
At the South African Agricultural Research Council’s Tropical and Subtropical Crops (ARC-TSC) campus, the Citrus Mutation Breeding programme is used to improve citrus cultivars by altering one or two major traits.
The characteristics most frequently altered are seedlessness, internal and external pigmentation and fruit rind thickness.
Selection ‘ARCCIT9’ is a new low-seeded cultivar released from the Citrus Mutation Breeding programme at the ARC-TSC as an essentially derived variety (EDV) from ‘Nadorcott’, owned by the Nadorcott Protection Agency (NCP). However, unlike ‘Nadorcott’ that can become very seedy when cross-pollinated, ‘ARCCIT9’ is mostly seedless even under high cross-pollination pressure. ‘ARCCIT9’ also contains very little pollen with low pollen viability, compared with ‘Nadorcott’ which has very aggressive pollen and causes seeds in other cultivars. ‘ARCCIT9’ is therefore an excellent alternative to ‘Nadorcott’ where cross pollination poses a threat to neighbouring cultivars in terms of seediness. ‘ARCCIT9’ was awarded Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) in South Africa (ZA20155936) on October 28, 2013. This cultivar has been widely propagated in South Africa and PBR has been applied for in many of the citrus-producing areas worldwide.
Publication
Authors
N. Combrink, S. Lingerfelder, J. Husselman, Z. Bijzet, E. Hajari
Keywords
mandarin, ARCCIT9, seedless, mutation, Citrus
Groups involved
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