US-897 Citrandarin

US-897 is a citrus rootstock with Cleopatra mandarin and Flying Dragon trifoliate orange listed as its parents. Citrus ID, quoting Chiefland’s 2010 account, attributes the cross to Herb Barrett without stating its year or location. It reports that Kim Bowman entered clone DPI-814-897 into Florida’s citrus budwood program in 2002 and that US-897 was released to industry in 2007.^⁠[2]⁠[6]

Citrus ID describes a compact or dense, nonweeping crown and fruit as broad as long or longer than broad, with slightly rough to rough leathery rind, no navel and orange flesh. UF/IFAS describes its seed as mostly true to type, without a measured percentage.^⁠[6]⁠[5]

UF/IFAS describes US-897 as a size-controlling rootstock with good yield efficiency and higher fruit quality on late-orange scions than on other rootstocks. Its profile reports Phytophthora palmivora and Diaprepes tolerance and possible citrus-blight susceptibility. In a separate Florida field and greenhouse study, Albrecht and Bowman found comparatively limited symptoms in PCR-positive US-897 plants, supporting HLB tolerance despite infection. These results do not establish immunity, and scion-performance reports describe grafted combinations rather than US-897’s own fruit.^⁠[5]⁠[8]