WSU Researchers Looking At Creating A Tastier Berry

Scientists at Washington State University have teamed up for a $12.8 million research effort, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to reveal genes and valuable traits for new and tastier blueberries and cranberries.

Washington is one of the top berry producing states in the U.S.  More than one million pounds of blueberries are grown statewide every year.  And growers produce more than 14 million pounds of cranberries annually, ranking the state #5 nationally.  However those two berry crops have not benefited from advanced breeding technologies used in other crops.

But that could change now, thanks to research scheduled for WSU.  The Vaccinium Coordinated Agricultural Project is funded by the USDA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative and led by Massimo Iorizzo, assistant professor at North Carolina State University.  VacCAP is a multi-state, trans-disciplinary team of scientists seeks to improve blueberry and cranberry varieties based on growers’ and consumers’ needs.

At WSU, Lisa DeVetter, R. Karina Gallardo, and Dorrie Main have team up with researchers from other institutions, USDA, and international research stations.  Advancing genetic discoveries that benefit both public and private breeding programs, researchers are targeting primary traits with an emphasis on better fruit.

DeVetter, assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture, will lead extension activities for blueberry breeders and industry partners, sharing information generated by the project and promoting the use of advanced DNA-based tools that help breed cultivars more efficiently.

Gallardo, associate professor in the School of Economic Sciences, will lead socio-economic research into the value of important consumer-oriented blueberry and cranberry traits.

“Consumer panels have shown that customers prize sweet, firm berries, but so far, no large-scale studies have estimated the commercial value of traits and preferences,” said Gallardo. “That is precisely what we’re going to measure through this research.”

Main, a professor in the Department of Horticulture, will oversee data management for the project and further develop the  established scientific database for Vaccinium hosted at WSU.  This work she said will provide breeding program management and analysis tools, and ensure the database is kept up to date with all publicly available genomic and genetic data.

To stay sustainable, the blueberry and cranberry industries need new approaches that increase fruit yields and boost quality to meet changing industry and consumer preferences.  With VacCAP, scientists are working together to achieve this goal, revealing the genetic factors and characteristics that influence fruit quality. The project will lead to new DNA tests to speed up selection of new varieties with better fruit traits, helping growers improve yields, efficiency, and value, and ultimately bring more and better berries for our shakes, snacks and desserts.

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