Strawberry Center Update from Director Gerald Holmes
The Cal Poly Strawberry Center is now entering its fourth year. We are excited about the progress made thus far. Many exciting and important projects are currently in progress, including the recent USDA-Specialty Crops Research Initiative $4.5 million grant to improve the disease resistance and sustainable production of strawberries throughout the nation. Other projects include screening strawberry germplasm for resistance to Verticillium wilt and Macrophomina crown rot, chemigation, Botrytis gray mold resistance development and anthracnose disease control.
Our staff increased to include John Lin, bio-engineer. Lin is working with scientists at Cal Poly, nationally and internationally to bring greater activity to automation projects.
Kyle Blauer recently joined the Strawberry Center as a research associate. He will manage the field research program.
Looking forward, we will add an entomologist and farm manager to the staff. This will round out our team with much needed expertise in entomology. Lygus bug and mites are very important pests for California strawberries and adding an entomologist will allow us to do important research for the industry.
Disease diagnosis continues to be an important service to the industry. Associate Professor Kelly Ivors works hard to get results quickly and accurately and train students along the way.
Our first Field Day exceeded expectations with more than 200 attendees. We will hold this event each year to showcase our research results. Look for this event in late July.
We look forward to an exciting year in 2018. With continued support from the California Strawberry Commission we will continue to delve into projects that address industry needs through research and education. For weekly updates, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/cpstrawberrycenter.
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