Development of high health status mother planting for new Australian almond varieties (AL16004)

What was it all about?

This investment ran from 2017 to 2019 to help provide the almond industry with the earliest possible access to varieties evaluated and released through the industry’s breeding and evaluation work, funded through the Hort Innovation Almond Fund’s Australian almond variety evaluation and commercialisation program (AL12015) and National almond breeding and evaluation program (AL17005).  

It established new mother plantings of virus-tested and true-to-type trees, to allow high-health-status budwood material to be provided to nurseries for grafting.

Until this project, the industry relied on two mother plantings to supply budwood. Plantings are now spread across multiple sites – reducing the risk of damage to budwood from factors such as virus contamination or seasonal bud damage by frost, hail or severe winds. The additional supply also meets the industry’s increasing need for budwood due to rapid industry expansion and the replanting or older orchards.

The project saw 740 trees of six new levy-funded varieties and promising selections planted across two additional mother planting sites, with the varieties having been bred for their yield, production and quality advantages.

Full details of the project can be found in the final research report, available for download at the top of this page.