2015 ASHS Annual Conference

August 02 - 07, 2015

The American Pomological Society, founded in 1848, is the oldest fruit organization in North America. The mission of the Society is to “foster the science and practice of fruit production and variety development.” In keeping with this mission, this year’s keynote presentation will provide an overview of one of the most significant apple breeding programs in North America. Since 1895, the Cornell apple breeding program has released 65 apple varieties, with ‘Cortland’, ‘Macoun’, ‘Empire’, ‘Jonagold’ and the scab resistant ‘Liberty’ among the best known. ‘SnapDragon’ and ‘RubyFrost’ are the two most recently-developed cultivars. The top priority of the Cornell University program is breeding for fruit quality, but investigators are also conducting genetic research on plant architecture, resistance to flesh browning, enhancement of vitamin C and specific antioxidants in fruit. To enhance the understanding of traits important in genetic improvement, epigenetic, genetic and genomic studies with students are conducted in collaboration with many valued colleagues at USDA and Cornell in the area of germplasm use, storage research, developing and testing of cider varieties, new ornamentals and disease resistant varieties.