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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/dining/14seed.html?em&ex=1174017600&en=25c82399316ffb8a&ei=5087%0A">http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/dining/14seed.html?em&ex=1174017600&en=25c82399316ffb8a&ei=5087%0A</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>March 14, 2007<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<h1><nyt_headline version="1.0" type=" "><b><font size=6 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:24.0pt'>Growers Yearn to Be Free of Mandarin Seeds <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></nyt_headline></h1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><nyt_byline version="1.0" type=" "></nyt_byline>By DAVID KARP<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><nyt_text></nyt_text>Maricopa,
<st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Calif.</st1:place></st1:State><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>A SWARM
of bees can get anyone worked up, although most people would not think to file
a lawsuit in retaliation.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Last
April, though, <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>’s
largest citrus grower threatened to sue beekeepers, accusing them of letting
their insects “trespass” on mandarin groves. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
growers were not afraid of being stung, they were afraid that the bees would
pollinate their trees, something farmers usually want bees to do. But these
trees in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> were planted to
bear seedless fruit, and pollination would create seeds. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>This
spring a citrus growers trade association will be lobbying the state
legislature for a Seedless Mandarin Protection Act that would establish
“no-fly zones” of two miles for hives around designated orchards.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>If the
response seems unusual it’s because of what is at stake: seedless
mandarins fetch three to four times the price of seeded ones, according to a
2005 study. The acres in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>
planted with mandarins, mostly seedless varieties, have grown to 27,000 from
10,000 in 1998. In 10 years it will probably be hard to find mandarins, also
known as tangerines, with seeds.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“It’s
becoming impossible to market mandarins with a high level of seeds,” said
Etienne Rabe, a manager for Sun Pacific, a large grower, as he watched
harvesters clip fruit at a huge planting near <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Bakersfield</st1:place></st1:City>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Tom
Mulholland, who grows 400 acres of mandarins southeast of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Fresno</st1:place></st1:City>, was even more dismissive of seeded
varieties. “Push ’em out, bye-bye,” he said. “That’s
where your low prices are going to be.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>As
growers learned starting 70 years ago with seedless grapes and more than a
decade ago with seedless watermelons, shoppers will pay for convenience. To
feed the demand for fruit with less mess, farmers and scientists have been
chasing new varieties and developing new technologies. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>But the
process began long ago, when growers found natural mutations of citrus fruits
with few or no seeds, like navel oranges and Persian limes, which they
propagated by grafting. A few seedless mandarins have been around for more than
a century, notably the early-season satsumas, but they were limited in season
and not as addictively sweet and richly flavored as the best varieties, like
clementines.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Originally,
clementines were seedy, and required pollination by bees to bear regular crops.
In the 1960s <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>
researchers discovered that by applying a spray at bloom, simulating the growth
hormones naturally secreted by seeds, farmers could obtain good harvests of
seedless clementines. Bees became undesirable.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Spanish
scientists improved this technique, and in the 1980s and 1990s seedless Spanish
clementines conquered markets in Europe and the eastern <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>California
growers saw this success, and in the late 1990s rushed to plant clementines,
mostly in the San Joaquin Valley citrus belt, from south of Bakersfield to
Fresno.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>They also
placed big bets on a clementine-like variety of seedless mandarin, found in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Morocco</st1:place></st1:country-region> in the
1980s, with the ungainly name of W. Murcott Afourer. A hybrid of <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Florida</st1:place></st1:State>’s Honey
Murcott tangerine, possibly with a clementine, it has thin, easily peeled skin,
a deep orange color and very good flavor. Ripening after clementines, from late
January to March, and producing abundantly without bees or hormones, it quickly
became the hottest new citrus variety. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>A freeze
in mid-January destroyed about half of the state’s late-season mandarins,
but as shipments soar in the next few years “there’s going to be a
head-on clash” with Spanish exporters, Mr. Rabe said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>But
clementine and <st1:place w:st="on">W. Murcott</st1:place> trees dependably
produce seedless fruit only when grown in isolated blocks. If they are not, the
presence of bees becomes an issue. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Most
growers underestimated how much buffer zone they needed around plantings to
keep bees from bringing pollen from nearby seedy citrus. In pressing for
legislation, <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>
growers are again following Spanish farmers, who in 1994 got their government
to bar beekeepers from putting hives near their plantings during bloom.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hives
could be moved to other groves, or beekeepers could feed their colonies, said
Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual, a growers association.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Something
has to be done, he said. “As more mandarin plantings start bearing, the
situation’s going to explode,” he added.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Pollination
by bees is crucial to many <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>
crops, including almonds, stone fruit and melons, and while the law would let
this continue, beekeepers vehemently object to the restrictions. They have
recently sustained grave losses because of a mysterious syndrome called colony
collapse disorder.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“It’d
be a devastating loss of the locations needed to keep bees healthy,” said
Joe Traynor, a bee consultant in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bakersfield</st1:place></st1:City>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>A partial
solution for this problem — an irradiated version of W. Murcott that
never develops seeds, even when cross-pollinated by bees — has been
developed by Mikeal L. Roose and Tim Williams, citrus breeders at the <a
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/university_of_california/index.html?inline=nyt-org"
title="More articles about the University of California.">University of
California</a> at Riverside. In 1996 they irradiated <st1:place w:st="on">W.
Murcott</st1:place> budwood sticks (stems used for grafting) to rearrange the
chromosomes to cause sterility.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While
many resulting trees had fatal mutations, one, now called Tango, was virtually
identical to the original <st1:place w:st="on">W. Murcott</st1:place> yet
averaged only one seed in five fruits. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Nurseries
started propagating Tango in June, and have orders for millions of trees.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Using
irradiation to breed mutations in citrus is not new — Richard Hensz
developed the deep-red Star Ruby and Rio Red grapefruits using this technique,
starting in 1959. But Dr. Roose and Mr. Williams have undertaken a far-reaching
program trying to rid the seeds from 63 varieties of citrus. Although most are
mandarins, their 6,000 experimental trees also include oranges, tangelos,
lemons and grapefruits.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>On a
recent visit to his test plots in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Riverside</st1:City>,
<st1:State w:st="on">Calif.</st1:State></st1:place>, Mr. Williams offered
samples of a dozen selections, identical to the parents except that they
averaged only one to three seeds instead of 10 to 30.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>(There’s
a debate among growers over what is “seedless.” A consortium of
growers that markets 90 percent of California-grown clementines and <st1:place
w:st="on">W. Murcotts</st1:place> under the name Cuties allows no more than 15
fruits with seeds out of 100. Other growers say that is too strict.)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
original Daisy mandarin may be the most delicious citrus, but hardly anyone has
planted it because it is so seedy. Mr. Williams said the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">California</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>
might release irradiated Daisy and other low-seeded varieties late next year.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Many
researchers around the world are irradiating citrus. <st1:State w:st="on">Florida</st1:State>,
still the leading producer of mandarins in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>, cannot grow
high-quality clementines in its climate, and has lagged in introducing seedless
varieties. But the <a
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/agriculture_department/index.html?inline=nyt-org"
title="More articles about the U.S. Agriculture Department.">United States
Department of Agriculture</a> and the <a
href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/university_of_florida/index.html?inline=nyt-org"
title="More articles about University of Florida">University of Florida</a> have
several promising irradiated selections, including low-seeded versions of the
state’s three major commercial mandarins. One, Fallglo, may be released
within a year; after that it will take about five years for fruit to be sold
commercially.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Scientists
also are breeding new seedless varieties, mainly by hybridizing trees with
three sets of chromosomes, rather than the normal two. That genetic imbalance
causes the fruits to be seedless. Five years ago the <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">California</st1:PlaceName> introduced three such triploid
mandarins, of which some 200 acres have been planted, and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Florida</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>
breeders are evaluating 12,000 triploid mandarins.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“Triploids
are the future of seedlessness,” said Jude W. Grosser, a citrus breeder
at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Florida</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>He also
induces mutations by regenerating a tree from a single cell. One result bears
seedless <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Valencias</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
the world’s leading juice orange, in a version more suitable for eating
fresh. He said it would probably be introduced in three years.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>An
experimental method called cybridization transfers a gene for sterility into
seedy varieties, rendering them seedless more efficiently than the shotgun
approach used in irradiation. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While all
these techniques involve advanced biotechnology, none are considered
“genetic modification” for regulatory purposes, Dr. Grosser said.
And there has been no evidence that any of them have compromised flavor or
healthfulness.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
success of all these methods may show that, paradoxically, the best way for a
mandarin to proliferate is to be sterile.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<nyt_update_bottom></nyt_update_bottom>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#004000" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#004000'>Jennifer Tsang<br>
<a href="http://coevolution.org">Coevolution Institute</a><br>
<st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">423 Washington St.</st1:address></st1:Street>
5th Fl.<br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">CA</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94111-2339</st1:PostalCode></st1:place><br>
T: 415.362.1137</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#004000" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#004000'>F: 415.362.3070</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#004000" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#004000'><a
href="http://www.nappc.org">www.nappc.org</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#004000" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#004000'><a
href="http://www.pollinator.org">www.pollinator.org</a></span></font><font
color="#004000"><span style='color:#004000'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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