Development of Supersour and Other Promising Rootstocks for Florida

Development of Supersour and Other Promising Rootstocks for Florida

Report Date: 04/13/2017
Project: 15-002   Year: 2017
Category: Plant Improvement
Author: Kim Bowman
Sponsor: Citrus Research and Development Foundation

Field performance information this quarter was collected on more than 300 new rootstocks in 19 different replicated active USDA field trials established prior to 2017, including assessment of tree growth, tree health, fruit yield, fruit quality, and tolerance or resistance to HLB and other diseases. Evaluation of trials usually includes periodic testing of trees for Las infection, using PCR. The trials include rootstocks currently in Florida industry use (such as US-802, US-812, US-897, and US-942), as well as SuperSour hybrids not yet released. Additional trees in the USDA nursery now will be used to plant seven additional replicated field trials in 2017. The combined list of current trials and those that will planted in 2017 is shown in the table below, along with additional details on each trial. The focus of data collection from these trials is on parameters that are most relevant to assessing rootstock effects on tree tolerance to HLB. Our aim is to find new rootstocks that grow healthier trees with more fruit despite HLB, than the best rootstocks currently available. In addition to these 26 trials, I am working with the UF breeding team under two HLB-MAC projects to establish at least 13 additional rootstock field trials over the next 12 months, combining the best advanced new rootstocks from the USDA and UF breeding programs. A comprehensive new NIFA SCRI-funded rootstock breeding project involving UF and my program should begin soon, improving the integration of the rootstock efforts of the two institutions, while also involving other researchers to expand the scope and complexity of the search for plant resistance solutions to the HLB problem. Additional information is available on the USDA rootstock breeding project, on request.


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