- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Published on: January 4, 2011
The first commercial crop of an exceptional new mandarin variety created by UC Riverside scientists will be harvested this month.
The fruit, called Tango, is the result of a mutation induced by irradiating budwood of W. Murcott mandarin. The process mimics nature’s manner of improving fruit. Radiation from the sun or natural errors during cell division can cause a single branch or fruit to mutate and develop unique characteristics, which scientists call a “sport.” People have been reproducing favorable sports for generations. In fact, all navel oranges are sports – natural mutations of oranges with seeds or other navel oranges.
W. Murcott mandarins, originally from Morocco, are favored for their deep...
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