Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/572389
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER OCTOBER 2015 33 Honeycrisp?" he asks. "Maybe there's a limb somewhere that bears fruit that never has bitter pit." Beaudry has already recruited some folks with a rep- utation for finding sports. Both the Harold Thome and Bernard Thome families on Fruit Ridge north of Grand Rapids have found important sports of McIntosh and Empire. Growers Fred Rasch and Bernie Thome are listed as collaborators on the project. Also collaborating is Wanda Heuser Gale at International Plant Management, who works with growers who find sports to develop them into full-fledged varieties. One of those is RubyMac, a sport of McIntosh found by Bernard Thome in 1999 and patented in 2006. Beaudry has already sent samples from the parent tree that generated RubyMac, with the hope of identifying the gene or genes that give it that deep redness that covers almost the entire apple and make it color earlier in the season. Luckily, the parent tree that produced that limb mutation—a McIntosh of the strain called Startling—still exists in that orchard near Comstock Park, Michigan. Beaudry spoke to growers during the fourth annual RidgeFest this summer, where he made his appeal for their support. He stressed that this is a "proof of concept" project, an experiment, and that his work is based on a hypothesis. It has not been proven. "Our initial focus will be on color development (anthocyanin formation), since this is an easy pheno- type to characterize and much of the biology of color formation in apple is well understood at the molecular and physiological levels," he wrote in seeking funding for the project. "If we can demonstrate this technique to be feasible, it will allow us to very rapidly character- ize dozens of value-related genes and begin exploring aspects of biology that would otherwise be effectively intractable." • THANK YOU GOLFERS AND SPONSORS 22nd Annual WSTFA Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament The tournament, held August 4, 2015, at the Highlander Golf Course, East Wenatchee was another success! To learn more about the Washington State Tree Fruit Association Memorial Golf Tournament, contact WSTFA: 2900 Euclid Avenue | Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone (509) 665-9641 | Fax (509) 665-8541 | Website www.wstfa.org WOMEN'S DIVISION First Place Stemilt Growers: Eva Lauve, Chris Shannon, Kristi Taylor, Wendy Everhart MEN'S DIVISION First Place Nichino America: Aaron Gale, Lee Gale, Neil Johnson, Greg McPherson 2015 FIRST PLACE TEAMS 2015 HEADLINE TOURNAMENT SPONSORS Call us FIRST for the largest selection of trees and rootstocks available NEW APPLE rootstock! 1-800-421-4001 Phone: 503-538-2131 Fax: 503-538-7616 E-mail: info@treeconnect.com Web: www.treeconnect.com Call us FIRST 1-800-421-4001 From the breeders of Bud 9: • Vigor between M-9 T337 and M-9 Pajam®2 • Yield efficiency similar to M-9 T337 • Dwarfing • Cold hardy • Disease resistant • Fireblight tolerant B10 ® cv. Mich 96 USPP 21,223 Services are FREE TO GROWERS! Future contracts for cherries, pears, and apples; ALL ROOTSTOCKS.