100 years of breeding CEREAL FIBER FORAGE FRUIT GERMPLASM NUTS OILSEED ORNAMENTAL VEGETABLE PLANT BREEDING ACADEMY RESEARCH AND InfORMATION CENTERS Plant Breeding Program COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Office of the Dean COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES AOffice ofnote the Dean from the editor ummarizing 100 years of history not only California, but the United Sin plant breeding at UC Davis is States and in many cases the world, a formidable task. As a land-grant to enjoy fresh produce throughout university, UC Davis has played the year. This publication captures a major role in developing and the impact that UC Davis has had managing many of the more than on developing crops through plant 350 plant commodities now grown breeding over the last century and in California. The diversity of crops just as importantly, highlights the ranges across vegetables, fruits, nuts, people who have made this possible. grains, forages, ornamentals and turf. ! In the early 1900s the focus was on a few grain crops, and has expanded considerably since that time. The application of plant breeding and training of breeders at UC Davis ALLEN VAN DEYNZE focused on the unique and diverse (530) 754-6444 California environment, allowing [email protected] Table of contents Peach, processing 20 VEGETABLE Strawberry 22 Artichoke 36 Dean’s address 3 Prune and plum 24 Carrot 37 Celery 38 CEREAL GERMPLASM Garlic 39 Oat 4 Foundation Seed Program 25 Grain legumes 40 Other Triticeae 5 Foundation Plant Services 26 Lettuce 42 Rice 6 C.M. Rick Tomato Potato 44 Wheat 8 Genetics Resource Center 27 Sweet potato 45 Barley 10 Tomato 46 NUTS Onion 48 FIBER Almond 28 Pepper 48 Cotton 11 Walnut 30 Pistachio 32 MISCELLANEOUS FORAGE Plant Breeding Academy 49 Alfalfa 12 OILSEED Research and Information Clover, Berseem 14 Safflower 33 Centers 50 Plant Breeding Program 51 FRUIT ORNAMENTAL Acknowlegements 51 Cherry 15 Arboretum All-Stars 34 Melon 15 Buffalograss, turf 35 Grape: table and wine 16 Fig 18 Rootstocks for stone fruit 19 2 UC Davis Plant Breeding Program DEAn’s ADDRESS In support of plant breeding lant breeding at the University Our strawberry program provided Pof California, Davis, has been a the germplasm for 60 percent of priority since the beginning days of the world’s strawberries; more the campus. It was recognized early than 80 percent of the strawberries on that a program in production produced in North America are agriculture, which included from UC Davis varieties. The alfalfa plant breeding, was necessary for breeding program recently released California farmers to thrive. In 1906, varieties with the single-known the University Farm — now the source of resistance to whiteflies. UC Davis campus — was established As leaders in virus treatment as part of the UC Berkeley campus. technology, UC Davis maintains By then, plant breeding was clean seed stock of many of the already well underway. In 1870, a genetic resources for the world, selection was made for the almond including tomatoes, strawberries, variety Nonpareil that would remain grapes, cherries, peaches, the primary female almond variety plums, pistachios, almonds, for the next 100 years. Wheat sweet potatoes, and roses. improvement programs began at These are but a sample of the UC Davis in 1904, with selections established and transformed by the many accomplishments of the from Spanish introductions. wild tomato germplasm collections thousands of plant breeders and Both of these programs remain made by Charlie Rick; these students who have been affiliated internationally recognized today. collections are still maintained on with UC Davis. Our campus Our researchers are now using campus and used in international continues to evolve in training breeding techniques that were not breeding programs. The tomato- plant breeders with the recent even imaginable 100 years ago. processing industry in California introduction of the Plant Breeding Key breeding developments came about as a result of the joint Academy. It is only fitting that have come from UC Davis that development of tomatoes that its inaugural class graduated on can be mechanically harvested this centennial anniversary. UC Davis researchers and the tomato harvester — both Researchers at UC Davis remain were landmark research areas committed to plant breeding and remain committed at UC Davis in the 1950s. working with the agricultural and to plant breeding The basis of much of the plant food industries to enhance the breeding and plant genetics economic vitality of agriculture and working with the research in California is rooted and improve the health and quality agricultural and food at UC Davis. Robert Allard spent of life for Californians and people four decades (1940s–1970s) throughout the world. UC Davis has industries to enhance developing our understanding progressed markedly from its early the economic vitality of the recombination of genes, University Farm days to its current quantitative genetics, and gene position as a premier international of agriculture. interactions with the environment. research university — our plant Clonal selections of grapes were breeding programs reflect our rich have changed and improved many made at UC Davis by Harold Olmo heritage and our commitment to agricultural crops. Male-sterile in the 1950s and ’60s that resulted food and agriculture in California. lines were discovered in carrot in the success of the Chardonnay and onion, thereby establishing grape as a California crop — NEAL VAN ALFEN their hybrid-seed industries. Chardonnay grapes are now grown Dean, College of Agricultural The tomato industry was on nearly 100,000 acres in the U.S. and Environmental Sciences UC Davis Plant Breeding Program 3 CEREAL Oat Avena sativa L. As top breeders, sowing our oats at ranks just behind wheat, Obarley, and rice in cereal pro- Cal Qualset and duction in California, and is grown UC oat varieties. primarily for hay, secondarily for grain, and rarely for human con- sumption. UC Davis has been active in its development since the 1930s. Oat production in California ini- tially was derived from introduced landraces, such as California Red, Coastblack, Fulghum, and Kanota. UC Davis released a mass-selection purified stock source of California Red in 1937 which became the pri- mary source of all subsequent pro- duction of that variety in California. Early oat breeding at Davis con- sisted primarily of screening lines for adaptation as well as pest and Coit Suneson, a USDA breeder Calvin Qualset has led oat breed- pathogen resistances and releasing located at UC Davis, bred several ing at UC Davis since 1968, focus- promising lines. For example, West- oat varieties — Indio in the 1950s, ing on expanding genetic diversity; dale was released in 1942 by the Ag- selected from crosses that included breeding and distributing oat vari- ricultural Experiment Station (AES) Fulghum and Palestine in their par- eties with disease resistance, good at Davis after screening showed it entage, and Curt (1958), the first agronomic traits, and high grain and had resistance to a stem rust which short-statured cereal crop released in forage yield; and building a system of was impacting Central Coast oat the U.S. He also exploited hybrids of seed multiplication and distribution production. Another example is Pal- cultivated oat varieties with wild oat, to ensure new varieties are widely estine, distributed in the late 1940s and released Sierra (1961), Rapida available to California growers. In by the AES for its drought resistance. (1966), and Montezuma (1968). 1994, Qualset released Pert and Bates-89. By 1997, Pert had become the major variety planted in the state. Other varieties from this program DECADE VARIETY BREEDER have recently been released: UC 113, 2000s UC 113, UC 125, UC 128, Qualset UC 125, UC 128, UC 129, UC130, UC 129, UC 130, UC 132, UC 132, UC 142, and UC 148. UC 142, and UC 148 1990s Pert, Bates 89 Qualset Early researchers: W.W. Mackie, G.W. Hendry. Breeders: G.A. Wie- 1960s Rapida, Sierra, Montezuma Suneson be, USDA (1920s–1934), C.A. 1950s Indio, Curt Suneson Suneson, USDA-Dept. of Agronomy/ 1940s Ventura, Palestine, Westdale Suneson Agronomy and Range Science (1936–1968), C.O. Qualset, Dept. 1920s Kanota, Fulghum introductions of Agronomy and Range Science/ 1910s California Red, Coastblack landraces Plant Sciences (1968–present). 4 UC Davis Plant Breeding Program CEREAL OTHER TRITICEAE Donald Kirby in the triticale and wheat plots at the Tule Varieties Lake field station. put to good use he grass-family tribe Triticeae T consists of the cereal crop species of wheat, barley, rye, triticale, and many wild species often used as gene sources for crop improvement. UC Davis breeders have focused on rye and triticale and interspecific hybrids between crops and wild Triticeae species. Triticale is a relatively new crop, Coit Suneson, USDA-UC Davis, or distorted seeds. The goal was a produced by hybridizing wheat and worked from the 1940s into the seed crop that did not need annual rye and chemically doubling the 1960s to develop a perennial wheat. replanting. Commercial success chromosome number of the hybrid. He created a bulk population of was never achieved, but it was Triticale has a place as feed and for progeny from crosses between five released as a bulk population (CAS human consumption as flour and different wheat varieties, which 10180) and has found some use for in whisky. Research at UC Davis has are annual, and two species of feeding game birds during winters. centered on reducing height and wheatgrass, which are perennial. lodging tendency and increasing The population was sometimes Breeders: C.A. Suneson, USDA-ARS/ fertility and grain quality. Calvin supplemented by additional crosses, Dept. of Agronomy (1936–1965), Qualset, a UC Davis professor of with the mechanical removal C.O. Qualset, Dept. of Agronomy agronomy and breeder, released of plants expressing undesired, and Range Science (1967–1994).