Hort. Sci. (Prague), X:X | DOI: 10.17221/166/2024-HORTSCI

A comparison of seven macadamia cultivars for suitability to the high altitude and high latitude climate of southern Tibet in ChinaOriginal Paper

Jifeng Wan1,2, Minghong Zou2, Ximei Song2, Qian Yang2, Hui Zeng2, Yang Zhao1
1 College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, P.R. China
2 South Subtropical Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Tropical Fruit Biology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Key Laboratory of Hainan Province for Postharvest Physiology and Technology of Tropical Horticultural Products, Zhanjiang, P.R. China

The suitability of macadamia trees for different climates has been shown to affect tree growth and fruit quality. In this study, the differences in tree survival rate after frost injury, tree growth, nut mass, kernel quality and yield of seven macadamia cultivars were evaluated for field production in the high altitude and high latitude climate of southern Tibet, and the suitability of macadamia cultivars was determined. The cultivars evaluated were ‘Beaumont’ (‘HAES695’), ‘HVA16’ (‘A16’), ‘Hinde’ (‘H2’), ‘Own Choice’ (‘O.C.’), ‘SSCRI-1’, ‘SSCRI-2’ and ‘SSCRI-3’. Of these, ‘Beaumont’, ‘A16’, ‘H2’ and ‘O.C.’ were Australian cultivars and ‘SSCRI-1’, ‘SSCRI-2’ and ‘SSCRI-3’ were Chinese cultivars. The results showed that all seven cultivars grew well under the high altitude and high latitude climate conditions of southern Tibet without continuous frost. ‘A16’ and ‘Beaumont’ in addition to their reasonable yield, nut mass and kernel quality, had the higher tree survival rate after frost injury. ‘A16’ and ‘Beaumont’ were well adapted to the high altitude and high latitude climate of southern Tibet, followed by ‘O.C.’, ‘SSCRI-1’ and ‘SSCRI-2’, but ‘SSCRI-3’ and ‘H2’ were unsuitable. These results indicated that it is possible to produce macadamia in the high altitude and high latitude climate of southern Tibet by planting excellent frost-resistant cultivars, with promising yields and a commercial standard of nut quality.

Keywords: Macadamia sp.; kernel quality; nut mass; tree growth; tree survival rate; yield

Received: September 4, 2024; Revised: September 14, 2025; Accepted: October 15, 2025; Prepublished online: March 13, 2026 

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