Economic and biological characteristics of new promising forms of mandarin (Citrus reticulata var. unshiu Tan.).

Abstract

Mandarin (Citrus reticulata var. unshiu Tan.) is grown in the subtropical zone of the Krasnodar region in Russia as one of the most winter-hardy citrus taxa. RRIFSC is the holder of citrus crops collection, which is the basis of breeding research since 1997. Currently, the C. reticulata hybrid collection has more than two hundred accessions, 150 of them have been characterized as valuable for further breeding programs to develop new elite cultivars. As a result of a comprehensive assessment of promising seedlings, 21 elite forms of mandarin were selected. These forms of mandarin were under assessment in the germplasm collection and possess a complex of valuable traits: high yield, low and medium growth, early terms of fruit ripening, increased winter hardiness, fruits qualities, which allows using them as a parental material in breeding work for the development of qualitatively new mandarin cultivars for commercial cultivation in the humid subtropics of the Black Sea coast. The selected forms differ in the fruits size, fruit mass varied from 68 g to 110 g. A highest fruit mass was found in forms 99-4; 99-2; 2-2; YuT-2005. Fruits of the following selected forms 97-1; 2-8; M2-23-1; M2-1-2; YuG-2005; YuG-2008 were characterized by its uniformity and small size. Forms F200-4; F200-6; F206-1 derived from cross-breeding combinations with Fortunella margarita resulted smaller fruits. In recent years four mandarin forms have been selected: 2-8; 99-4; 2-5; UG2008 with uniform not large (from 70 to 100g), seedless fruits, high fruit quality, bright orange color which are in demand in Russian market.