Industries · Horticulture
Macadamia
Macadamia is a crop we're interested in. Tissue culture could support Australia's macadamia industry through rapid multiplication of rootstock and scion varieties for commercial orchards.
The industry
Macadamia is Australia's only native food crop of major commercial scale, and Australia is one of the world's leading producers. The industry is concentrated in northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland. Variety development is a strategic priority, with breeding programmes selecting for yield, kernel recovery, and resistance to pests and disease.
Why tissue culture
- Rapid multiplication of newly selected rootstock and scion varieties
- Clonal propagation of elite trees identified in breeding programmes
- Clean planting stock free of systemic pathogens
- Alternative pathway for cultivars that do not propagate reliably from cuttings
References
- Hort Innovation. Macadamia Fund.
Also at MeristemLab: which plant-pathogen test answers which question from MeristemLab Diagnostics, and production-record software for tissue-culture labs.