June 2021 - 14

Fernandez makes mark on berry breeding in NC
By Amy Rossi
North Carolina State University
When you buy strawberries in the
grocery store, what you taste is the top
1% of the product.
Gina Fernandez tastes the rest.
What is she looking for?
" Flavors, sugars, texture - it's a lot of
different traits that make a berry taste
good, and I evaluate hundreds of berries
each year for those traits, " she said.
She and her team have started
screening breeding material for a couple
of genetic markers to make the job
easier. For instance, one genetic marker
indicates more of a grape flavor, while
another yields a peachier taste. They will
be able to eliminate plants that don't have
those flavors before tasting begins.
Fernandez, North Carolina State
University's John D. and Nell R. Leazar
Distinguished Professor of Horticultural
Science, brought her small fruit expertise
to the university in 1996. She and her
husband, Craig Yencho, had decided to
move wherever one of them was offered
a job first, and they had been about to
leave for a research station in Colombia
when North Carolina (NC) State called
with positions for them both.
" The blackberry industry in North
Carolina was at its infancy and ready to
grow, and it was perfect timing for me to
Gina Fernandez, North Carolina State University's John D. and Nell R. Leazar
Distinguished Professor of Horticultural Science, brought her small fruit expertise to the
university in 1996. Photo: Mark Hall/North Carolina State University
come here. It worked out really well for
the two of us, " Fernandez said.
It has also worked out well for growers.
Fernandez is the state's strawberry,
blackberry and raspberry breeder,
carrying out research at four stations
from the mountains to the beach. North
Carolina's varied climates across these
regions allow her team to pace the
harvest season.
Hired as an assistant professor and
Extension specialist, Fernandez was
named a full professor in 2010 and
the Leazar Distinguished Professor of
Horticulture Science - a position that
was created during the Think and Do the
Extraordinary campaign - in 2019.
" It's recognition of the work that I've
done, and it's really nice to have that
opportunity to be recognized beyond the
full professor title, " she said.
As part of her NC State Extension
responsibilities, she has developed a pest
management strategic plan and crop
profile for Southern blackberry growers,
which will be used by the EPA and USDA.
She also helps growers identify damage
after freezes and develop fertility plans for
fall and summer fruiting berries.
It's a non-traditional split to work
in both breeding and Extension, but it
aligns well for Fernandez because, as she
puts it, " Growers like new varieties. "
Fernandez's current research is
focused on developing those new
varieties of strawberries, blackberries
and raspberries, which she finds fits
perfectly within NC State's " think and
do " motto.
" We get to think about what needs to
be done to develop a new strawberry -
for example, one that grows early and is
disease resistant and tastes good. And
then we do the work. There's a tangible
outcome, " she said.
Working with caneberries - the
delicate fruit that grows on the woody
stems (or canes) of plants in the genus
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June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2021