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New Varieties the variety owner. In the case of Summer - land varieties, the funds go into the Canadian government's general revenues. There are no restrictions on how many "Just recently, we licensed a variety in Norway in response to a cold call. acres of the varieties Canadian growers can plant or where they can sell the fruit, whereas international licensees are limited both in the amount of acreage and the countries they can ship to. If the license holder is in the Northern Hemisphere, they are not allowed to export the variety to Canada or to markets where they would compete with Canadian exports. This is another protection for Canadian growers. Occasionally, PICO has licensed varieties in other areas that Canadian growers aren't interested in, perhaps because they don't suit the growing conditions there. "Sometimes, they are really small niche varieties, but they're making some grower a decent return somewhere," he said. Award Three years ago, the government of Canada presented PICO and the Summerland center with a Federal Partners in Technology Transfer award for their work in evaluating, propagating, and commercializing a range of high- quality sweet cherry varieties since they went into part- nership in 1994 and helping to transform the way new fruit varieties are introduced and marketed. The shift to actively marketing sweet cherry varieties had, by 2009, generated more than 250 domestic and international licensing agreements and returned more than $2 million in royalties to the breeding program, according to information from PICO. That doesn't happen very often." —John Kingsmill Today, PICO has about 600 varieties in its budwood orchard. Kingsmill said PICO didn't start out with all the varieties it is managing today. It began small and worked up. The company is profitable, but it took many years to reach that point. "Because we're owned by the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association, we have always felt we had an obligation to give back to the industry when we're in a position financially to do that," he said. He doesn't expect demand for new varieties around the world to slow down, though it takes many years to develop a variety and sometimes many more to get traction in the marketplace. "A lot of thought and effort is being put into breeding and marketing these new varieties, and for those who have done it well, it seems to be paying off," he said. "We're not interested in releasing new varieties because they're new, but because they have something distinctive about them. As long as the large, international, vertically integrated companies are behind a variety, you have a good chance of them succeeding." But it's easier to find a place for new cherry varieties than apples, he said, mainly because of the research center's reputation for developing high-quality cherries. There's been global demand for the self-fertile, late- season varieties that Summerland has specialized in. Those traits were unique in the world for a long time. "Those developments alone helped to sell the reputation of the cherry breeding program," Kingsmill said. "We have grow- ers from around the world beating a path to our door. Cherries are an easy sell. We don't have to do much. We have growers coming here to see what's new and taste the cherries. The cherry part is a lot easier than the apple part. "Apples are becoming more challenging to develop because, unlike cherries, apples are sold by name, and you really need to come up with something special to get the world to adopt it," he added, citing the British Columbia apple Ambrosia as an example. • A Introducing A Powerful New Tool SUCCESSION of cherries griculture and Agri-Food Canada's fruit breeding program at Summerland, British Columbia, is expected to release a new cherry variety later this year. SPC136 is a midseason red cherry that is said to be big (9.5 to 8.5 row) with excellent flavor and storage potential. Cherry varieties released by the breeding program since 1944 include: Van, Sparkle, Star, Sam, Sue, Stella, Salmo, Summit, Lapins, Sunburst, Newstar, Sylvia, Sweetheart, Sandra Rose, Santina, Skeena, Sonnet, Satin, Sonata, Cristalina, Celest, Samba, Symphony, Sovereign, Staccato, Sentennial, Stardust, Starblush, and Starletta. —G.Warner Against Apple and Pear Crop Pests New Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Software Module for Apples and Pears from Davis Instruments Davis Instruments' IPM software module for apples and pears gives you a potent weapon in the fight against apple and pear crop pests. When used with a Davis Vantage Pro2™ weather station and WeatherLink® software, this IPM software uses weather data from your orchard to help you make the best and most cost-effective pest management decisions for your location. See at a glance when weather conditions in your orchard are favorable for insect or disease damage to occur. Uses models for all known apple and pear pests, including diseases*, insects and mites. Uses affordable Davis Vantage Pro2™ weather station and WeatherLink for Windows software. * Most disease models also require a Leaf Wetness Sensor with a Wireless Leaf & Soil Moisture/Temperature Station. GO TO DAVISNET.COM FOR A FREE DEMO OF OUR IPM SOFTWARE www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER JUNE 2012 29 GFG1206