Experiences in the development, release and commercialization of new irradiated citrus varieties fro

The use of irradiation in the mutation breeding scheme of citrus breeding programs is now quite widespreadwith most programs in the major citrus producing countries actively pursuing new selections. Irradiation, usedprincipally to reduce the seed content of normally seedy varieties, represents a more rapid method of achievingthese goals than does hybridization. Some programs, notably in Israel and California, have a longer historywith these techniques, not only in the development of new varieties but especially as relates to the releaseand commercialization of the newly developed selections. The experiences in the Citrus Breeding Programat the University of California Riverside have included the development, release and commercialization ofseveral mandarin selections including 'Tango', 'DaisySL', 'KinnowLS', and 'FairchildLS' along with others in the'pipeline'. The presentation will discuss the specific approaches used by the UCR Citrus Breeding Programduring the irradiation process, the criteria and standards used in the selection of promising new candidatesand the general experiences and problems encountered during the release and commercialization phases.