A lifetime of breeding

摘要

The Kerman remains the standard variety for pistachios, but replacements are being sought. At the turn of the last century, Henry Ford was purported to have said that a new Model T could be ordered in any color that you wanted just so long as it wasblack. Like the Model T, it appears in California that you can plant any pistachio variety that you desire as long as it is Kerman. Over 90 percent of the pistachio acreage in California is planted to the Kerman female, and this percentage is increasingwith time. This variety was selected decades ago, and no new varieties have appeared to challenge its preeminent position. Not only have no new varieties been successful in displacing Kerman, but also no new varieties have arisen since that mature earlier or later so as to extend the harvest season.