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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Insects and Horticulture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #302363
Title: ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ Mandarin

Author
item FURR, JOSEPH - Former ARS Employee
item REECE, PHILLIP - Former ARS Employee
item KAHN, TRACY - University Of California
item SIEBERT, TONI - University Of California
item BARRY, GRAHAM - Xlnt Citrus Company
item McCollum, Thomas
item CASTLE, WILLIAM - University Of Florida
item Stover, Eddie

Submitted to: Journal of the American Pomological Society
Publication Type: Germplasm Registration
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/3/2014
Publication Date: 10/31/2014
Citation: Furr, J., Reece, P., Kahn, T., Siebert, T., Barry, G., McCollum, G., Castle, W., Stover, E. 2014. ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ mandarin. Journal of American Pomological Society. 68:198-203

Interpretive Summary: The mandarins (tangerines) ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’, a variant of ‘US Furr’ with reduced susceptibility to citrus scab, are being officially “released” as varieties. These tangerines have been developed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service Citrus breeding program. ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ are high quality, December/January-maturing mandarins with excellent rind color, superior flavor, and moderate peelability (rind comes off in pieces similar to ‘Sunburst’ and ‘Murcott’). ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ can self-pollinate and therefore do not require other nearby varieties to set fruit, which are fairly seedy with 6-24 seeds/fruit.‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ fruit average 5-7 ounces per fruit at maturity.‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ trees are moderately vigorous, thornless, and spreading with fairly dense foliage. Many tasters report that ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ are among the best tasting citrus they have eaten. These mandarin cultivars merit consideration for planting as a part of a mid-late season mandarin portfolio, and are released without any intellectual property restrictions.

Technical Abstract: This document marks the official release of ‘US Furr’, a hybrid of ‘Clementine’ x ‘Murcott’, and ‘US Furr-ST’, an irradiated variant of ‘US Furr’ with apparent field tolerance to citrus scab (causal agent Elsinoe fawcetti Bitanc. and Jenk.). The hybridization creating ‘US Furr’ and ultimately ‘US Furr-ST’ was made at the USDA Horticultural Research Laboratory in Orlando, Florida, by Dr. Phillip Reece in 1953. Seeds were sent to the USDA Date and Citrus Station in Indio, California for hybrid evaluation. Dr. Joseph Furr identified this superior selection from the resulting seedlings.‘US Furr’ has been sufficiently promising that it has been introduced into at least five countries, under several different names. Budwood of ‘US Furr’ was introduced into Argentina, Brazil, France (Corsica), Israel, and Spain in the 1980s and 1990s using material prior to irradiation and some possibly post-irradiation. ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ are high quality, December/January-maturing mandarins with excellent rind color, superior flavor, and moderate peelability (rind comes off in pieces similar to ‘Sunburst’ and ‘Murcott’).‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ are sexually self-compatible and fruit in mixed plantings average 12 to 24 highly polyembryonic seeds per fruit, and 6 to 12 seeds per fruit when planted in isolation of compatible pollinating varieties. Furthermore, very few to no fruit are set when flowers are bagged, i.e. low parthenocarpy ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ fruit average 150-215 grams per fruit at maturity. ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ trees are moderately vigorous, thornless, and spreading with fairly dense foliage. The diversity of names used for ‘US Furr’ / ‘US Furr-ST’ has reduced awareness that a single genotype has garnered wide attention,limiting impact and resulting in few US plantings. It is anticipated that this official release will garner increased interest in these cultivars leading to increased plantings. Many tasters report that ‘US Furr’ and ‘US Furr-ST’ are among the best tasting citrus they have eaten. These mandarin cultivars merit consideration for planting as a part of a mid-late season mandarin portfolio, and are released without any intellectual property restrictions.