CITRUS NURSERY SOURCE: New Varieties Released

By Peter Chaires

On October 24, 2024, the University of Florida’s (UF) Cultivar Release Committee unanimously approved the release of seven citrus varieties to Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc.

Florida Statutes now require that, before being released to the general public, any new variety of citrus developed as a result of any research or study accomplished using any percentage of funds from the State Treasury, as well as any technology that enhances the marketability of new or current citrus fruit varieties, must be made available as a first option for licensing and commercialization for a period of 90 days, under commercially reasonable terms, exclusively to the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) or its designee. If the FDOC or its designee exercises such exclusive license, the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) may retain the exclusivity for up to eight years after the date of execution.

Considering the high level of interest in some of these varieties and the fact that plant material for three of these varieties will be rapidly scaled-up by the state and is also approved for inclusion in Cycle 6 of the Citrus Research and Field Trial program, the FCC approved the FDOC exercising its first option for six of the seven varieties. In doing so, it also affirmed New Varieties Development & Management Corp. (NVDMC) as its designee.

At the time of printing, the FDOC and NVDMC had solidified their arrangement, and details of the arrangement between NVDMC and Florida Foundation Seed Producers had not yet been concluded. All parties wish to move this process forward expeditiously. Information will soon be forthcoming to stakeholders. The process of commercialization will be as simple and straightforward as possible, while meeting the needs of nurseries, growers, UF, FDOC and NVDMC.

The varieties included in this program include:

1. N14-10 Hamlin – tolerant to HLB with improved color, Brix and soluble solids in the presence of HLB
2. OLL-DC-3-40 sweet orange – tolerant to HLB with improved Brix, color and juice scores in the presence of HLB
3. OLL-DC-3-36 sweet orange – tolerant to HLB with improved Brix, color and juice scores in the presence of HLB
4. C4-10-42 mandarin hybrid – tolerant to HLB and useful for processing and blending into not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice.
5. RBA 13-18 mandarin hybrid – tolerant to HLB and useful for processing and blending into NFC orange juice
6. Orange 14 rootstock – performed well under HLB pressure

The only variety not included among those approved by the Cultivar Release Committee was a hybrid lime.

Peter Chaires is executive director of New Varieties Development & Management Corp.

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