Root2Fruit

Root2Fruit. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.
Maintaining research for improving plants is key to the longevity and growth of the ag industry. Gennaro Fazio, Apple Rootstock Breeder and Geneticist with Cornell University says they have seen a decline in the research done with tree fruit rootstocks.
FAZIO: Research budgets within the research stations have dwindled in the past few years so many pomologists, people that used to work on rootstocks are not being replaced. The other reason is that sometimes until the tree dies or the entire orchard dies or becomes unproductive the industry does not think about rootsocks or at least research on rootstocks until there’s an emergency.
They have created a movement called Root2Fruit to help further research.
FAZIO: It’s essentially a group of researchers and industry representatives, growers, nurseries that are coalescing to increasing the research effort and the output from the rootstock research and not just on apples. We’re talking about most temperate tree fruit crops.
He says that if research is not increased there could be some major impacts on the industry.
FAZIO: Even if it was 10% of the impact it would still be in the tens of millions of dollars.
That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.