Good Fruit Grower

June 1

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World awaits B.C. cherries is comparatively small, with just 4,500 acres planted, but cherry varieties devel- oped in the province, such as Lapins, Skeena, Sweetheart, Sonata, Staccato, H Cherry varieties developed at Summerland, British Columbia, are carefully managed. by Geraldine Warner igh quality, self-fertile cherry varieties developed in British Columbia, Canada, have become standards in the international cherry industry. British Columbia's own cherry industry and many more, have become world reknowned. Cherry and apple varieties developed at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Summerland (as well as some varieties from private variety developers in the province) are commercialized by the Okanagan Plant Improvement Corpor - ation (PICO), which is owned by the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association. PICO's general manager John Kingsmill said the majority of cherries currently grown commercially in the world were developed at Summerland. The Canadian tree fruit industry is so small that the breeding program could not possibly be sustained if the only growers who had access to the varieties were Canadians. PICO is charged with licensing Summerland's new varieties internation- ally while ensuring that Canadian growers are the primary beneficiaries. Its "Canada First" policy is based on the recognition that the breeding program, which is fed- erally owned, is funded by Canadian tax- payers and thus indirectly owned by all Canadians. Canadian fruit growers do have preferential access to the varieties and pay lower royalties than growers in other countries. Budwood PICO is located at Summerland, but is Effects of Using Nutri-Cal with Nutri-K on Cherries % MARKETABLE GRADES OF BING CHERRIES 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 Nutri-Cal 36% Increase in Premium Grade 8.5-9! 56.7 44.2 20 PREMIUM MEDIUM 0 5 80 BRIX QUALITY OF BING CHERRIES 10 15 20 25 21.25% 17.00% not directly involved in evaluating the breeding program's selections. Although it is aware of selections under development, it does not formally have access to them until they are released. Then, it multiplies budwood and makes it available to grow- ers for testing. If a grower wants trees, PICO supplies budwood to nurseries to make the trees. Varieties with novel traits are usually released on a restricted basis rather than through open release. PICO works with a network of vertically integrated companies around the world, and whenever a new variety is ready for international release, it provides material for evaluation. Those companies have the right of first refusal to negotiate a commercial license if they believe there's an opportunity for the variety to be successful in that country. Kingsmill said PICO tries to work with companies that have demonstrated their interest in protecting the intellectual property rights. "We've had really good success with our U.S. licensees in particu- lar, and our licensees in South America, in combatting illegal propagation." In some cases, the company might put Application Rate of 2 Quarts Nutri-Cal & 1 Quart Nutri-K Applied 6 times beginning at Petal Fall 2011 Application Dates: May 23, May 27, June 3, June 11, June 19, June 24 Ron Britt & Associates, Yakima, WA 2012 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 FIRMNESS EVALUATION OF BING CHERRIES 369.50 g % PREMIUM COLORS OF BING CHERRIES 100 95.75 366.28 g GRAMS FORCE TO SQUEEZE SKIN 1mm Make Sur Make Sure You ou A Alway ays Ask Fo orr ® ® C.S.I. CHEMICAL CORP. 28 JUNE 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER 800-247-2480www.nutri-cal.com Walt Grigg: 509-952-7558 10980 Hubbell Ave., Bondurant, Iowa 50035 PACIFIC NORTHWEST 75 80 85 90 95 89.25 out a request for proposals, or invite a company to apply for licensing rights. Occasionally, it receives inquiries from places where it didn't expect there to be any interest, Kingsmill said. "Just recently, we licensed a variety in Norway in response to a cold call. That doesn't happen very often." Restricted Typically, Canadian growers have access to limited-release varieties for five or six years before they are released in other countries, Kingsmill said. For exam- ple, the Sentennial cherry, which was released in 2006, was not made available to other Northern Hemisphere countries until 2011. Canadian growers pay a per-tree roy- COMBINED MAHOGANY & DARK MAHOGANY alty, which is typically $1 per tree for the Summerland varieties. Producers in other countries generally pay up-front license fees, tree royalties, planting or acreage fees, and production-based royalties on the fruit. "Even on these limited-release varieties, Canadians have never in the past paid more than a tree royalty, so there's another advantage that the Canadian growers have," Kingsmill said. The royalties PICO collects are split, with PICO retaining a portion to fund its business operations and the rest going to www.goodfruit.com

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