Good Fruit Grower

January 15

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ever seen. I'm incredibly fortunate to have found them. I'm really enthusiastic about what's already been accomplished and what we expect we will accomplish." He expects Phytelligence to have a staff of 25 by 2014, when the company should reach cash-flow–breakeven point, and eventually employ more than 40 people. • Chris Leyerie For variety or rootstock owners, this means they can be sure they are propa- gating and selling the right product, which reduces their liability. It would avoid the kind of mixup that Cornell University recently experienced during propagation of the Geneva 214 rootstock (see "Mixup delays rootstock production," page 18). The mixup, which was discovered at Willow Drive Nursery in September, has added a year or more to the time it will take for this highly antici- pated rootstock to reach growers' orchards. For growers, the genetic testing means they can be sure that every one of the trees they plant is the correct variety, and they won't need to replace any later, once they're in the orchard. For the graduate students involved, it means a rare opportunity. Tyson Koepke, who has been working on tissue culture and micropropagation of sweet cherries and mapping the cherry genome, said it was not something he expected his gradu- ate work to lead to, but it's been a great experience to be involved in the new company. "For me, the only reason to do research is if it's going to mean something in the field to the growers and consumers. This is a great avenue to translate this research into something useful." The students will continue to study for their degrees while working for the com- pany part-time, but there's a distinct divi- sion between company property and university property, Leyerle stressed. "Of all the companies I've been involved with, this is the best team I have A [] new Web site is being developed for the Phytelligence company where growers may access information about the program and make contact with the researchers. The address is http://phytelligence.com. www.goodfruit.com ©2012 Certis USA www.CertisUSA.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER JANUARY 15, 2012 17 High Potency CYD-X® HP The most potent codling moth virus...ever.

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