The Adelaide University breeding program are looking to release...

The Adelaide University breeding program are looking to release several new varieties soon, however industry uptake is understandably slow in such a long term crop.
"Dr Wirthensohn, by her own admission, “lives and breathes almonds”—she is currently working to discover if new tree breeds can create a super SA nut. “At the moment there are only three cultivars, so we need to develop more for long-term sustainability,” she says. Of the five varieties in large-scale trials in the Riverland and Sunraysia regions, three are self-fertile, which could be a very big deal indeed for growers.

Many commercial cultivars, notably Australian favourite Nonpareil, are sterile, so bees and polliniser varieties need to be planted to ensure fruit is set. However, this means orchards are less productive and crops could also reduce if, as feared, bee populations decline.

The potential for self-fertility was identified in the mid-1970s when Italian almond cultivars were found to be self-fertile. It’s a long research process with promising signs of success but nothing certain as yet, which does not deter Dr Wirthensohn, who has built a career on understanding and improving horticultural crops. "