Supplementary grower trial of elite macadamia selections (MC09017)

What was it all about?

This project, which ran from 2009 to 2015, aimed to find new macadamia cultivars that delivered yield and quality advances to the macadamia industry.

It drew from a series of regional variety trials from project Macadamia Regional Variety Trials – Series 3 (MC06009) that had assessed the potential of progeny from the first round of crosses (B1.1) conducted by the industry’s breeding program under project Advanced macadamia improvement program (MC08001). Not long after project MC06009 commenced, material from the second round of crosses, round B1.2, became available.

This project trialled 13 elite clonal selections from the macadamia breeding program B1.2 and the top three selections from B1.1, alongside three standard varieties, and found there was considerable potential to identify a new high yielding macadamia cultivar.

Out of the 19 selections planted near Bundaberg in 2011, seven flowered and set nut within three years and three months, when most commercial cultivars do not start to produce nuts until four years after planting. One selection – HIN 01 210 – was estimated to have a potential yield of around 1.29kg per tree.

Initially the industry could not afford to compare the progeny of the B1.1 and B1.2 breeding programs, but funding of this trial through voluntary contribution resulted in a considerable shortening of the breeding cycle, a major saving to industry and the possibility of an earlier release of new cultivars to growers.

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To learn more about the macadamia varieties produced by this investment, including information on how to access them, head to the Macadamia Innovation website.