Amorentia Blog

PART 2 of the Beaumont History –

In 1971 and again in 1975, Prof Dick Hamilton visited Len in South Africa to select which cultivars he would send to South Africa to test in trial blocks. This was an important exercise in determining suitable cultivars for various regions. Len and the Prof travelled to Malawi, Zimbabwe, the Lowveld, (joined by Peter Allan) Swaziland and the coastal areas of Natal. It was on this trip that Len realised the importance of testing the quality of Macadamia kernel in determining its suitability for commercial use. Len and the Prof spent time analysing test results from the Hawaii selections and Len was delighted that Beaumont proved to produce a high quality kernel. Prof Dick still discarded the cultivar for the reason that it needed to be tree-harvested. Len was determined to overcome this challenge and when the first South African Beaumont orchards started to produce a crop, successful harvesting techniques were developed by Len and the team at Amorentia Estate and Nursery.

These became the protocols which now enable our industry to successfully harvest Beaumont using ethapon. Ethapon, now a registered product on Macadamias, is sprayed on Beaumont trees at a rate of 750 – 1000 ppm once the crop is ready for harvest. Amorentia Macadamia Nursery is extremely proud of the role it played in shaping the history of the South African Macadamia industry. It was also under Len’s guidance that Amorentia Nursery began its own propagation of Beaumont (and other Macadamia cultivars).

Situated in an incredible micro-climate just outside of Tzaneen, Limpopo, Amorentia Nursery propagates Macadamias, Avocados, Dragon Fruit and a wide variety of other fruit trees and ornamental plants. When visiting the nursery, its 70 years of horticultural history is evident – particularly the 45 years of macadamia vegetative clonal propagation.

The recent growth of the South African Macadamia industry has prompted another expansion phase at Amorentia Macadamia nursery meaning it will soon have the capacity for 400,000 vegetatively propagated clonal rooted-cuttings (VPs) and nearly 400,000 mature trees. 70% of its production remains Beaumont VPs.

As South Africa’s position in the global production of macadamias strengthens, role-players are asking important questions about cultivar choice and root-stock performance. A good farmer knows 1 thing – that successful macadamia production begins with excellent nursery trees and nursery tree quality is determined by 2 elements:

• Superior Root-stocks
• Excellent Mother-material

VP propagation is uncommon in the Macadamia nursery industry in South Africa and grafted seedlings are more widely used and understood. VPs produce a more even orchard due to consistency of genetics and they have a superior root-system when propagated by superior nurseries with experience. Following good practice protocols ensures excellent results.

There is a reason why Beaumont (HAES 695) has become the clear leader in cultivar choice in South Africa. A deeper look into the history of the cultivar explains why this is so and why Amorentia Macadamia Nursery chooses to produce hundreds of thousands of Beaumont trees each year.

During the 1930s, thousands of Macadamia cultivars were trialled in Hawaii in search of the highest quality nuts for a commercial industry. The trials were headed by Prof. Bill Storey and followed by Prof. Dick Hamilton. A new Australian selection, NSW44, which was numbered 695 in the HAES gene bank, (later to be given the name Beaumont) was rejected for its inability to naturally drop its own crop. It had passed all other quality tests conducted by the University of Hawaii.

Above: Len’s slide photograph of the John H Beaumont Agricultural research centre in Hawaii

Len Hobson, a well-loved horticulturist in South Africa is known for having pioneered the Macadamia Industry here and for having developed the Papino ® too. During a visit to California for a citrus symposium in 1968, Len visited an important Macadamia trial-planting. Among the trees planted there was the HAES 695 selection. Len also visited the first commercial planting of 695 belonging to the chairman of the Californian Macadamia Society (Col. Wells Miller). Len recalls that the young trees were laden with nuts. After visiting both sites, Len fall in love with Beaumont and he began the preparation to import some material to South Africa.

Once Len had established the 695 mother material in his nursery, he immediately experimented with clonal propagation and realised the importance to pursue the cultivar for commercial use. In his record keeping, he noted that a high quality rootstock coupled with an above – average kernel (and an exceptionally precocious nature) must be a winner if vegetatively propagated properly.

Via Doc (v.d.Meulen) I was in touch with Prof Dick Hamilton (Then Dr R.A. Hamilton) on Papaya (Papino®) and Dick continued with most of the selection work on Macs in Hawaii for many years followed by Phil Ito (now too retired).

We met up with Col. Wells Miller then president of the CMS and Cliff Tanner a board member.  Wells showed us his orchard and cracker and gave us each a tin of the Royal Hawaiian (now Mauna Loa) nuts.  When I tasted the nuts my first reaction was that it was a fantastic product with vast marketing potential. I was sold on the crop.

We then visited the Southern Californian variety block where all the HAES varieties were growing and there was no doubt that Beaumont stood out as far as the nearly mature crop was concerned.

By the time we arrived at Cliff Tanner’s orchard we were all extremely tired and hot with frayed nerves from Bills driving.  Cliff first showed us his magnificent tubs of Cymbidium orchards in full flower as a ’pick-me-up’ and then we went to the Beaumont (695,NSW44) orchard.  It was a young orchard then and it was laden with nuts. During this visit he advised me to introduce it to South Africa and offered to send me some scion wood in due course. This trip was a turning point for me as immediately I ‘fell in love’ with the product and the variety.  

Back at home I asked Dr Johan Grobler of the Research Station to import the graft wood to which he agreed.  The condition was that I could arrange everything, but the scions had to go into the quarantine station at Stellenbosch 2 years until with special dispensation we could take it to Nelspruit.   After the 2 years, if it was clean, then it had to be multiplied so that everyone who asked for some plants could receive the material. So only when there were enough plants to supply everyone who applied, could I receive my 2 plants?  I understood the quarantine requirement, which is essential, but I never understood the logic behind an enterprising person having to wait for everyone else’s benefit. It had something to do with everyone being treated equally and no one should be a jump ahead of anyone else, they tried to explain.

I, immediately on my return, as luck would have it, applied to Pretoria for the necessary permits to import the graft wood.  Remember there were sanctions at the time so I had to have Reserve Bank clearance, not that any currency was involved, before a phyto-import permit could be granted. This was to stop money fleeing the country during the apartheid regime.

Now old Cliff Tanner was a doer, and not a talker, and so he simply posted the graft wood to me at Letaba by air parcel post without my knowledge.

All hell broke loose and the next thing I had Grobler on the phone giving me 1000 words!  They threatened me with jail. Customs had picked up the graftwood at Jan Smuts Airport. I could explain it all satisfactorily in the end.   The necessary red tape was completed and the parcel went to Stellenbosch and then to Nelspruit where all the subsequent events took their course.  I remember a few years later collecting my 2 plants together with a car load of plants for others, amongst which were 2 for the Loughar-Clarks in Georges Valley.