April 2020 - 6

of Horticulture, team up with researchers
from six other US academic institutions,
three USDA research centers, and three
international research partners.
DeVetter 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 leads socio-economic research
into the value of important consumerScientists
team up to improve
blueberries, cranberries
Lisa DeVetter, horticulturalist at Washington State University, co-leads a new nationally funded effort exploring genes, traits and tools
to help breeders raise new and better blueberry and cranberry varieties. Photo: Washington State University
By Washington State University
and University of Wisconsin/Madison
Scientists at several universities 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.
Part of the Vaccinium family
of plants - which also includes
lingonberries and huckleberries - and
cranberries are considered superfoods,
high in antioxidants, nutrients, and
vitamins, and are important crops both
nationally and internationally.
Washington state is one of the nation's
top producers of blueberries, growing more
than a million pounds per year. Washington
ranks fifth for cranberries, growing more
than 14 million pounds annually.
Blueberry and cranberry producers,
however, haven't yet benefited from
advanced breeding technologies used in
other crops, which limits their ability to
grow new and better varieties.
That will change thanks to a new
research effort, the Vaccinium Coordinated
Agricultural Project, or VacCAP, funded
by the USDA's Specialty Crop Research
Initiative and led by Massimo Iorizzo,
assistant professor at North Carolina
State University.
VacCAP's multi-state, transdisciplinary
team of scientists seeks
to improve blueberry and cranberry
varieties based on growers' and
consumers' needs. Advancing genetic
discoveries that benefit both public and
private breeding programs, researchers
are targeting primary traits with an
emphasis on better fruit.
At Washington State University
(WSU), Lisa DeVetter, assistant professor
in the Department of Horticulture, R.
Karina Gallardo, associate professor in
the School of Economic Sciences, and
Dorrie Main, professor in the Department
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 will oversee data management
for the project and further develop
the established scientific database for
Vaccinium hosted at WSU. This work 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
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April 2020

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