Prunings
he province’s tree fruit growers won’t have a horticultural forum to attend this fall, for the second time in 41 years. It was cancelled two years ago because of a major slide that closed Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland. But, this time, it’s likely to be permanent, as the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association-organized event lost money last year, with not enough growers coming out. Instead, it will be combined with the annual Packinghouse Fieldmen’s Day put on by staff of the Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-operative, with a trade show organized by the BCFGA, probably in February. It likely will rotate between Kelowna and Penticton...
T
If you have some great apples worthy of entry in a national competition like the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, then make a quick call to the BCFGA office at 250-762-5226... The B.C. Wine Grape Council will receive up to $2.1 million from the federal government to address challenges facing the province’s grape producers by improving pest and disease control measures and enhancing grape quality, through research focused on enhancing the sensory and aroma qualities of grapes. “This support from the government of Canada is very important in helping us to reach our goals of enhancing our sustainable practices and the overall quality of our grapes and wines,” said council chair Hans Buchler. “Ongoing support for research in these areas by the federal government is critical for the success of our sector.” The money is being provided under
the Developing Innovative Agri-Products initiative, which supports industry-led science and technology projects. The initiative is part of the larger $158 million, five- year Growing Canadian Agri-Innovations Program, which helps get new agricultural products into the marketplace and improve agricultural processes...
The DNA code of the Golden Delicious apple has been sequenced for the first time, by a team of 86 scientists from Italy, France, New Zealand, Belgium, and the United States. The breakthrough could result in new and improved apple varieties which are more resistant to disease.
Scientists from 20 institutions took two years to unravel the apple’s code— the largest plant genome uncovered to date. The findings are published in the leading journal Nature Genetics. Professor Riccardo Velasco at the Edmund Mach Foundation in Italy, who led the research team, said sequencing the genome “will help us to develop high quality traits and bring new things to the apple market.” Kate Evans from Washington State University’s Tree Fruit
Research and Extension Centre, said the discovery would help the "long-term sustainable production" of apples. The Golden Delicious variety originated in West Virginia more than a century ago. The researchers were able to trace more of the apple’s ancestry, and found the domestic fruit’s wild ancestor Malus sieversii originally grew in the mountains of southern Kazakhstan . There are more than 7,500 varieties of apple known today.
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British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2010 23
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