New mandarin rootstock launched at Gayndah

New mandarin rootstock launched at Gayndah

15-Feb-2017

An exciting new rootstock for mandarin will be launched in Gayndah on March 7, providing growers with the first opportunity to view the performance of mature trees.

The field day will be held at the orchard of Russel and Lisa Baker, near Gayndah, from 10.30am until midday. There will be a field walk to see the trial and an official ceremony to mark the release.

Malcolm Smith, citrus breeder at the DAF Bundaberg Research Station, said the new variety will be named after Patricia Barkley, a retired citrus pathologist who was instrumental in bringing new genetic material (rootstocks), including this particular rootstock, to Australia.

“To be marketed under the name of Barkley, this new rootstock has shown solid performance over the last 10 years of production in an Imperial rootstock experiment planted at Gayndah in 2004,” Malcolm said.

“It was one of 33 different rootstocks tested in this experiment and will now be established by AusCitrus for distribution to Australian growers.

“The field day is the first opportunity for growers to see mature trees on these different rootstocks, and consider their suitability for commercial use ahead of anticipated seed availability in a few years’ time.”

The event is being jointly organised by the Qld Regional Advisory Committee, Qld Citrus Improvement Committee, and Qld Dept of Agriculture and Fisheries.

For more information, contact Malcolm at malcolm.smith@daf.qld.gov.au