Subject: [NAFEX] Fwd: ARS Scientists Develop Self-pollinating Almond Trees
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 08:49:32 -0700
Begin forwarded message:
STORY LEAD:
ARS Scientists Develop Self-pollinating Almond Trees
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ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Alfredo Flores, (301) 504-1627, alfredo.flores@ars.usda.gov
April 6, 2010
--View this report online, plus photos and related stories, at
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr
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Self-pollinating almond trees that can produce a bountiful harvest
without insect pollination are being developed by Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) scientists. This is good news for almond growers who face
rising costs for insect pollination because of nationwide shortages of
honeybees due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and other factors.
ARS geneticist Craig Ledbetter, at the agency’s Crop Diseases, Pests
and Genetics Research Unit near Parlier, Calif., is developing this new
line of self-pollinating almond trees.
Self-pollinating almonds are not new. The Tuono variety, originally
from Spain, has been around for centuries. But its traits are not
attractive when compared to California’s most popular almond,
Nonpareil.
Tuono’s seed coat has a hairy texture and it has a very thick shell, so
only 32 percent of the nut is edible kernel, compared to 60 to 65
percent for Nonpareil. But Tuono’s thick shell gives it more resistance
to the navel orangeworm and other pests. An almond that has traits from
both varieties would be ideal.
Ledbetter and his collaborators used Tuono as the male (pollen) parent
in conventional hybridizations with California-adapted almond cultivars
and selections. The scientists made crosses at bloom time and came back
at harvest time to collect the nuts. They then grew those nuts into
seedlings and surrounded the branches with insect-proof nylon bags to
exclude insects that could serve as pollinators. The seedlings bloomed
and some produced fruits inside the bags, making these seedlings
self-pollinating.
The original plantings in 1996 at first produced only small harvests,
but by 2006 produced excellent results. In November 2008, after a very
good almond harvest, Ledbetter and his team from Parlier brought eight
very promising selections from his self-pollinating almond breeding
program to the California Almond Board for evaluation.
The board was pleased with the skin color, oil content and, most
importantly, the flavor. And best of all, the new almonds have many of
the same characteristics as Nonpareil, which sells for premium prices.
ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA). The research supports the USDA
priority of promoting international food security.
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ARS News Service, Information Staff, Agricultural Research Service
5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128
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[NAFEX] Fwd: ARS Scientists Develop Self-pollinating Almond Trees,
Lon J. Rombough, 04/06/2010