INDUSTRY NEWS
LEFT : With its tight shell seal and hard shell , plus its light colour and selffertile properties , Aurora B is showing potential . The new variety will be available for tasting at the Australian Almond Conference in Adelaide next month .
Aurora B the latest variety showing potential
AURORA B is the latest variety from the Australian breeding program that ’ s showing potential for release , meeting many of the desirable traits that plant breeders were targeting . It has tight shell seal and hard shell , preventing kernel damage by carpophilus beetle and carob moth . Its appearance is similar to Nonpareil and it is also lightly coloured . The variety is also self fertile . During winter Cassandra and ABA staff met with Riverland Almonds / Nut Producers Australia , Select Harvests , ofi and Bright Light Agribusiness to get feedback about Aurora B . Participants were asked to provide their first impressions on several key traits including taste , visual appearance , crack out efficiency , the likelihood of damage during processing ( such as chips and scratches ) and its potential market positioning .
Overall there was consensus that the taste was favourable , closely resembling to Nonpareil . However , one noted challenge for this variety is its harder shell , which would require additional effort when processing . “ For Aurora B to be successfully introduced it would need to be scaled up rapidly to ensure a sufficient volume is available for processing ,” Cassandra said . At the August Plant Improvement committee meeting feedback from processors on Aurora B was shared , with ongoing discussions about the variety and its potential release expected to continue . Cassandra is attending the Australian Almond Conference in Adelaide next month and will have samples of Aurora B available to taste . She is also participating in a panel on Friday morning called ‘ The big question – what do I plant ?’
From previous page In July 2023 , the new fiveyear Australian almond variety evaluation program – AL22009 – started . Cassandra Collins was appointed to lead the program following the retirement of Michelle Wirthensohn . Cassandra has worked in horticulture for over 25 years and worked on several different crops , such as grapevines , olives , citrus and apples . Her PhD focused on the domestication of native plants , Cassandra is also a lecturer at the University of Adelaide . She ’ ll be part of the transition to use more molecular breeding techniques . Cassandra said this would increase efficiencies in the breeding program . “ The tools are getting faster , cheaper and more sophisticated , so it ’ s a good time to bring them in ,” she said .
Breeding program evaluation In October the Australian almond breeding program was reviewed by Californian plant breeders John Slaughter and Kaylan Roberts . Cassandra admits that initially it was daunting to have the program reviewed so early into her tenure , but she could see the value it would provide . “ It has been timely to have the program evaluated at the start of tenure because the feedback provided can help shape the new directions within the breeding program ," she said .
ACE orchard trials Currently the program has a primary evaluation block at the Almond Centre of Excellence ( ACE ) with approximately 10,000 different almond varieties . Previous selections from primary trials are also being evaluated in secondary ( 10 trees of each variety ) and tertiary ( whole rows ) evaluation trials at ACE . Six new varieties , Maxima , Mira , Carina , Rhea , Vela and Capella , were released in 2016 and 2017 .
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