This investment continues to progress genetic improvement for the Australian macadamia industry, following earlier levy investments including Macadamia second generation breeding and conservation (MC14000). It is working to produce new cultivars that will provide the industry an advantage over international competitors.

Specifically, the project is evaluating more than 5000 second generation progeny seedlings as well as creating a further 5000 progeny in order to deliver elite selections that will be put into grower trials and regional variety testing sites for further evaluation.

Throughout the project, the team will be selecting for the industry-defined target traits of yield, tree size, nut quality and pest resistance. These target traits have been selected with the future in mind and will have a focus on adaptation to warmer climates.