September 22, 2009
MINUTES
FPS FRUIT & NUT TREE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
Monday, November 10, 2008, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Founders Board Room, Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center, UC Davis
Present: Maher Al Rwahnih, Missy Borel, Sarah Bradley, Bill Burchell, Cheryl Covert, Mike Cunningham, Ted DeJong, John Duarte, Beverly Ferguson, Chuck Fleck, Dave Fujino, Curt Gaines, Deborah Golino, John Ireland, Justin Jacobs, Tom Janecke, Nancy Fowler Johnson, Carole Lamb, Judith Lee, Lori Leong, Bob Ludekens, Joanna Luna, Susan McCarthy, Denise Meade, Clint Neagley, Fatima Osman, Tracy Pinkelton, Jack Poukish, Adib Rowhani, Mysore Sudarshana, Nancy Sweet, Rashpal Uppal, Jerry Uyemoto, CQ Winterbottom, Robert Woolley, Judy Yang.
Agenda Items:
Welcome and Introductions
Committee Chair Bill Burchell greeted the group and asked the attendees to introduce themselves.
Approve Minutes from 2007 Meeting
The minutes from the November 29, 2007, Committee meeting were approved as written.
FPS Update
Mike Cunningham, FPS Production Manager, reported on FPS activities for 2007-08. He reported on the UCD selections that were received, tested and planted; a list of those selections was distributed at the meeting and is attached to these minutes.
FPS staff visited California fruit and nut tree nurseries to familiarize themselves with the operations in anticipation of preparing proposals for the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN) and of revising the regulations for the California Fruit & Nut Tree Program. Unlike some of the other crops at FPS, there is a continual turnover of varieties with fruit and nut trees and much of the commercial material is proprietary with the nurseries.
Deborah Golino commented that the future of the fruit tree program includes either reinvigorating the FPS orchard, including proprietary varieties, by increasing industry demand for clean/certified stock and/or considering allowing foundation blocks (G1) to be maintained at nursery locations.
Robert Woolley stated that an accelerated testing schedule should be established at FPS to allow quick return of the certified stock back to the nurseries. Bob Ludekens and John Duarte mentioned that the extensive testing required at FPS impeded quick turn around of the many new varieties released regularly by stone fruit breeding programs. Golino stated that a national program with standard regulations and standard operating procedures could assist with that goal.
National Clean Plant Network
Deborah Golino reported on the NCPN activity related to Fruit and Nut Trees. She described the NCPN governing structure and proposed commodity networks. The Fruit Tree Network is headquartered in Prosser, Washington, and will operate with a single (Tier 2) Board.
The goal of the NCPN is to make it as easy for nurseries to provide certified material as it is for them to provide common stock. NCPN funding is not considered an earmark or subsidy but is support to the industry. The 2008 USDA/PPQ money was devoted primarily to quarantine activities. Proposals for future funding will be submitted in spring 2009.
Progress Toward Fruit & Nut Tree Program Revisions
Susan McCarthy, California Department of Food & Agriculture, presented an update on the revision of regulations for the California Fruit & Nut Tree Certification Program. A meeting was held April 8, 2008, out of which issued a comparative chart for the various versions of the regulations when revisions were attempted. A Science Committee was appointed to review necessary testing protocols. The process was then put on hold pending NCPN action on standardized national regulations.
Robert Woolley and Bob Ludekens expressed an interest in California moving ahead with its regulations. Deborah Golino indicated that FPS scientists would continue nursery visits to gather information for the Science Committee in order to make recommendations for testing and isolation protocols. Several attendees preferred moving ahead in order to access the experience of existing industry resources and allowing the regulations to evolve over time as needed.
The matters of future meetings and items related to FPS NCPN funding proposals were discussed.
Rose Day and Sustainable Backyard: Fruit Trees
Missy Borel introduced the California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH), a new center in the Dean’s Office associated with the Department of Plant Sciences. The CCUH has a broad mission including education and outreach to assist the public and external stakeholders with issues related to urban gardening and horticulture. In regard to fruit trees, Ms. Borel requested potential topics for a 2009 workshop series called ‘Your Sustainable Backyard’, a series on backyard food production. Information will be disseminated through the Master Gardener program, the U.C. Arboretum and garden clubs.
Almond Update
Drs. Mysore Sudarshana and Jerry Uyemoto gave updates on UCD almond pathogen research. They discussed almond mild etch (Butte County), almond brown line, and almond leaf scorch.
Cling Peach Breeding Update
Dr. Tom Gradziel presented a progress report on cling peaches and almonds in the breeding process at UCD. A few new varieties of peaches are in the pipeline but are a few years away from release. UCD is testing mechanical management of harvesting, thinning and pruning for peaches.
UCD is working with new almond material, all of which are crosses between Mission and Nonpareil. The goal is self-compatibility.
Gradziel is investigating the cause of non-infectious bud failure and seeks a molecular marker. In the past, studies have suggested that bud failure does not have a genetic cause but is an epigenetic mechanism. He proposes to characterize potential mechanisms using specialty crop grant funding.
Dried Plum Breeding Update
Dr. Ted DeJong reported on the dried plum breeding program. Sarah Bradley will replace Carolyn DuBose as manager of the daily operations in the breeding program. No new releases are anticipated for a few more years. In an effort to involve industry members in decisions regarding new releases, UCD has formed a Dried Plum Testing Group, where industry members will compare 20-25 selections each year.
DeJong discussed the search for a size controlling trait in HBok peach rootstock. A recent discovery was that the use of Controller-5 as an interstem resulted in intermediate size action.
Identification using DNA Fingerprinting
Judy Yang from FPS gave a presentation describing the identification of FPS plant material by way of DNA fingerprinting. The staff is creating a DNA profile for each crop.The FPS staff is currently writing a paper on the methodology for almond fingerprinting. The goal next year is to identify the peach collection.
At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed that Deborah Golino would select a date for the 2009 Committee meeting and notify Bill Burchell and Nick Dokoozlian.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Sweet
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