Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/314286
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER JUNE 2014 25 "All it's doing really is showing us the ones we would be less likely to like—but that's good." —Dr. Kate Evans Dr. Kate Evans, Washington State University's apple breeder, checks the growth of young seedlings in the greenhouse. A leaf sample from each plant is tested with genetic markers to predict fruit quality traits. Those likely to produce poor quality fruit are eliminated and never grown into trees. WSU's first release, WA 2, is a cross of Splendour and Gala; WA 38, WSU's lat- est release, is a cross of Enterprise and Honeycrisp. Evans wants to bring more diversity into the program in terms of flavor and mildew resistance, and is using mate- rial from the core apple germplasm col- lection at Geneva, New York. She's also making crosses using some of WSU's elite selections, which have been identified as having superior quality and are adapted to Washington conditions. "Most of the crossing we're doing will incorporate at least one of those advanced lines," she said. "We know a lot about them because we've included them in this marker screening." Storability Genetic markers are becoming avail- able for more traits, and Evans is still awaiting one that she thinks is particu- larly important for the industry—some- thing that would enable her to select for long storability. Although technology is greatly improving the efficiency of the program and providing insights into the quality of the selections, the fruit still needs to be evaluated by human beings. "We still haven't managed to achieve any way of doing this without eating an apple to taste it," Evans said. "No mat- ter what we do in terms of instrumental analysis or molecular analysis, all it's doing really is showing us the ones we would be less likely to like—but that's good. Ultimately, we haven't yet devel- oped anything to replace the human palate." •