The Australian Almond Breeding Program
Almond is an important nut crop in Australia. The University of Adelaide in collaboration with the Almond Board of Australia, Horticulture Australia and the ARC, is conducting a long-term almond breeding program, the only one of its kind in Australia. The program began in 1997 and aims to produce self-fertile almond cultivars with superior kernel quality as well as high productivity and local adaptation that will supply both local and overseas markets.
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The program focuses on classical breeding, molecular techniques such as fingerprinting and genome mapping to aid the breeding program, virus detection of the almond industry's budwood repository using molecular methods, and tissue culture techniques including cryopreservation of almond germplasm for future storage. The industry recognizes that breeding is a long-term commitment that is essential if it is to fulfil its goal of expanding its export markets.
Self-incompatibility in Almond
The almond has a self-incompatibility system that prevents self-pollination, and causes cross-incompatibility between genotypes sharing common (S) alleles. Pollen donor cultivars are currently planted at a 1:1 ratio with the main cultivar to achieve effective levels of pollination for commercial production. A self-fertility gene (Sf) was identified that confers self-compatibility in almond and we are currently investigating its role in the self-incompatibility system.
Researchers: Michelle Wirthensohn and Brent Kaiser
