Seedless mandarin crop fresh for winter

Vitamin C is good for immune health, boosting brain power and delivering antioxidants, something Harvey farmer Richard Eckersley will have in abundance this citrus season.

The Yambellup Estate horticulturalist said he had a new type of seedless mandarin on its way this year.

“We are really excited to introduce the tango mandarin,” Mr Eckersley said.

The seedless citrus variety was released from the University of California to meet the needs of consumers.

“Everything is going seedless because people prefer to not have seed in their mandarins,” he said.

Mr Eckersley said exclusion nets were used to stop the bees from pollinating the flowers and creating the seeds.

However, Mr Eckersley said the tango mandarins would not be ready until late July.

The fourth generation farmer said he had 54ha of oranges, 24ha of avocados and 12ha of wine grapes growing at his property.

“Ninety five per cent of our oranges at Yambellup Estate are for table consumption,” he said.

He said most of his fruit went to the domestic market in WA and any fruit not fit for the market was donated to Foodbank.