Protecting Australia's citrus genetic material (CT17008)

What was it all about?

From 2018 to 2021, this investment provided funding for the long-term National Citrus Repository (NCR) program for publicly owned citrus varieties. It supported the maintenance and disease testing of foundation trees in the NCR, as well as the disease testing of new Australian citrus selections entering the repository system.

The National Citrus Repository Program maintains high health status foundation trees as a source of budwood for industry. Trees may be disease-free or inoculated with a mild isolate of CTV to protect against severe isolates of CTV. Budwood from the foundation trees is used by the Australian Citrus Propagation Association, trading as Auscitrus, to create daughter trees and multiply large numbers of buds for industry. New varieties can enter the program if no known diseases are detected after pathogen testing and elimination.

This investment continued the work of previous projects funding the long-term repository program. Repository houses are located on the Auscitrus property at Dareton and at the NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (NSW DPI EMAI) at Menangle. Pathogen testing and elimination is undertaken by NSW DPI.

Currently, 124 publicly owned citrus clones are housed in the repository, from Australian and overseas sources. Two of these were new introductions to the repository over the course of the project from August 2018 to July 2021; one imported and one from a local source.

The National Citrus Repository is an industry asset that serves as an insurance policy for the future health and economic viability of the Australian citrus industry.