A few dozen growers learned about quirks of growing Pearl series cherries, cherry breeding and leafhopper research on June 6 at Oregon State University’s annual preharvest cherry tour in The Dalles.
WSU mentors in entomology, viticulture, and agricultural engineering worked with nine student interns from Hispanic-serving institutions across the state.
Within the next ten years, WSU researchers will create superior and resilient cherry varieties with genetic material from Sun World International, a private plant breeding company. The goal of this partnership is to create cherries that are larger, ripen earlier and have a better taste, said Per McCord, associate professor at the Irrigated Agriculture Research.
Sun World International and Washington State University have joined forces to develop a new generation of high-flavor sweet cherries that ripen earlier and are more practical to grow.
Horticulture associate professor and stone fruit breeder, Per McCord, and Sun World scientists are sharing germplasm from promising cherry varieties under a new research collaboration launched this spring.