Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/751050
www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER DECEMBER 2016 71 Researchers work to identify DNA markers of fire blight resistance to step up breeding efforts. by Shannon Dininny T his past summer, a team of researchers armed with scissors walked through a North Central Washington apple orchard and did the unthinkable: They inoculated 1,600 trees with fire blight. They're not aiming to wipe out an orchard. Rather, they're trying to identify the genes responsible for fire blight resistance in different apple cultivars and, ulti- mately, employ that information to develop new fire blight-resistant varieties. Pear growers have long known about the challenges posed by fire blight, caused by the bacterial pathogen Erwinia amylovora, and it's become more of an issue for apple orchardists as the number of new planted varieties grows. "It wasn't a problem when we were growing Red Delicious, because Red Delicious is pretty well resis- tant to fire blight," said Kate Evans, Washington State University apple breeder who is leading this fire blight study. "But as other varieties are coming in and growers are planting them, it's becoming more of an issue." Expanding the genotyping Researchers across the country have been working several years to establish genotypic information on dif- ferent cultivars of different crops. Called the RosBREED program, its aim was to improve and speed up breeding programs by identifying the DNA markers for desirable fruit qualities. Tracking fire blight ROSS COURTNEY/GOOD FRUIT GROWER An apple tree shows the ill effects of fire blight at WSU's Columbia View orchard, where researchers challenged the trees with the fire blight pathogen to determine their resistance to the disease. CALL TODAY for the dealer nearest YOU! We've got you covered We've done our homework. Have you? TOLL FREE: 855-855-0318 www.hfhauff.com • hfhauff@gmail.com PHONE: 503-538-2131 • FAX: 503-538-7616 info@treeconnect.com • www.treeconnect.com Call today to place your order! 800-421-4001 Trees available! 2017 Aztec Fuji ® B118/M9-337/Nic ® 29 Buckeye ® Gala M9-337/Nic ® 29 Buckeye ® Prime M9-337 Crimson Gold Pajam ® 2 Cripps Pink Lady ® (Rosy Glo) B10/B118 2018 Aztec ® Geneva ® 41 Buckeye ® Prime M9-337 Cripps Pink Lady ® (Rosy Glo) Geneva ® 41 Firestorm TM Pajam ® 2 Foxtrot TM Gala M9-337 Lady in Red ® Wildfire TM Gala M9-337/Pajam ® 2/B10 ® 2019 Aztec® Buckeye ® Prime Cosmic Crisp™ Firestorm™ Foxtrot™ Gala Lady in Red ® Premier™ Honeycrisp Royal Red Honeycrisp® Wildfire™ Gala