High hopes for new Australian mango release in 2013
Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is aiming to license three new mango varieties next year based on the common Kensington Pride cultivar, media agency the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.
The varieties are a result of the National Mango Cross Breeding Program which began in 1994 with the goal of rectifying some of the problematic aspects of the variety such as its unreliable flowering and low shelf life.
CSIRO director of business development Lionel Henderson told the ABC he had taken on the task of commercialization recently and was aiming to achieve his goal by the end of this year.
"The partners in the program ran an expression of interest process a couple of years ago and the Australian Mango Industry Association was our preferred partner out of that process, but we’ve been unable to finalize the details with them to date," he told the broadcaster.
"If unable to do anything with those guys positively, then we will be making sure material is available by licensing directly to propagation nurseries or to growers who wish to graft their own plants."
He said his expectation was that there would be a propagation royalty for the trees and then an ongoing production royalty once they start bearing fruit.
"We have suitable numbers of mature trees here at the institute in Kununurra (Western Australia) that we will be able to provide budwood to supply pretty much whatever requirements are out there in the industry."