Two varieties that tolerate HLB and produce ample fruit yield and juice were the highlights of the recent Millennium Block Field Day in Fort Pierce, Florida. The 20-acre Millennium Block at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) examines fresh fruit varieties and rootstocks.
“The two varieties that give our growers hope are a grapefruit-orange hybrid called Triumph, and a pummelo-hybrid named UF-914,” said Flavia Zambon, UF/IFAS assistant professor of horticultural production at the IRREC. “The two varieties stand out in our efforts to identify citrus that tolerates the disease (HLB).”
“The red flesh of the UF-914 fruit bred by UF/IFAS Professor Fred Gmitter resembles a grapefruit, except for its thick rind, characteristic of pummelos. It produces market-ready fruit,” Zambon said. “Triumph is a white seedy grapefruit-orange hybrid showing exceptional tolerance to citrus greening (HLB), with a full dark-green canopy, and reaching the industry’s juice quality and yield standards. We expect to insert Triumph into the breeding pipeline to produce seedless fruit, desired by elite markets domestically and in European and Asian markets.”
At the field day, attendees could taste the fruit from the trees they visited during the tour and choose their favorite. UF-914 won the taste test based on the best flavor and overall appearance and texture.
Attendees included growers as well as researchers and administrators from UF/IFAS and other citrus research organizations.
“Florida’s citrus industry is in a tight spot right now. We will use a multi-prong approach to solve the citrus greening problem: trees that can withstand the disease, treatment for psyllids (the invasive insect associated with citrus greening), breeding and other factors,” said field day attendee Trevor Smith, who is director of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry. “The Millennium Block is an excellent example of multiple agencies working together for a common cause: to find varieties that will produce high-quality fruit in the conditions we find ourselves in today.”
More information about the Millennium Block is available from Zambon at f.zambon@ufl.edu or 772-577-7376.
Source: UF/IFAS
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