My projects concern the genetic control of novel traits derived from wild species, the genetic control/physiological mechanisms underlying these novel traits and their use in vegetable improvement. Primary research focuses on traits limiting cultivar quality and production, including disease and insect resistance, storability and maturity.  The work leads to the development and release of germplasm or lines with the novel traits and superior horticultural type.  Applied and basic work also considers methodology, and has led to the development of laboratory and statistical methods.  Like many vegetable breeders, I have worked on several crops over the years.  My current research interests center on tomato and onion.

Tomato Projects:   Since considerable tomato breeding effort is done privately by the seed industry, work at the university level tends to be on higher risk projects focused on new novel traits of high potential value. Tomato is a model system for plant molecular biology, and so we have a wealth of tools from which to use when needed.  Projects underway in tomato focus on the genetic control and mechanisms for acylsugar-mediated multiple insect resistance in tomato, on resistance to the diseases late blight (caused by Phytophthora infestans), early blight (caused by Alternaria tomatophila), and Septoria leaf spot, as well as the interspecific sexual barriers in Solanum that impede transfer of traits from wild plant relatives to tomato.

The tomato program has generated and released improved tomato germplasm or lines,

• Lines homozygous for the alc mutant modifying fruit ripening process, for production of hybrid alc varieties with extended shelf life
• Cherry, freshmarket and processing lines with a novel form of early maturity that are early in maturity without not reductions in vine size, tomato yield, or fruit size and quality
• Germplasm with resistance to race three of Fusarium wilt
• Freshmarket inbred lines with strong tolerance for Early Blight infection of stems in a superior horticultural type
• Processing tomato lines combining new Late Blight resistance with vine type fruit production and quality matching current processing tomato hybrids

Tomato lines in development include

• Earlier maturing freshmarket tomato lines with resistance to both late blight and early blight.  These lines are near completion
• Earlier maturing freshmarket tomato lines with resistance to Septoria leaf spot, as well as late blight and early blight.  These lines are earlier in development
• Horticulturally acceptable lines carrying acylsugar-mediated multiple insect resistance.

My program has also generated techniques as follows

• A protocol for pollen tube clearing for in situ analysis
• A simple rapid assay for acylsugar production
• Molecular markers for the major late blight resistance gene
• A molecular marker set for genes affecting acylsugar productions

Onion Projects: NYS produces yellow and red long day pungent storage onions, and to a lesser degree, non-pungent or “sweet” onions from transplants.  Primary research focuses on traits limiting cultivar quality and production, including disease resistance, storability and maturity.  The work leads to the development and release of germplasm or lines with the novel traits and superior horticultural type adapted to long-day onion production.

Projects underway in onion include the production of yellow and red onions adapted to the northeast, milder moderate storage onion adapted to the northeast, transfer of resistance to Botrytis leaf blight (BLB) to onion from the wild relative Allium roylei, and identification of molecular markers for the BLB resistance gene.  The pest resistance program is expanding to target the transfer of resistance to other diseases and perhaps insect resistance from wild to cultivated onion.

In a collaborative project, we are also using the generation of doubled haploids to accelerate the breeding program, eliminate sub lethal genes, and produce fully homozygous lines of use both in hybrid production and as tools in molecular mapping of the onion genome. 

The onion program is younger than the tomato program, and is slowed by the biennial nature of the onion life cycle.  However the onion program has already released a series of 7 yellow storage onion inbred lines, as well as their male sterile counterparts. In 2007 we will be releasing a set of 4 onion synthetic varieties, which might be of particular interest for organic production. We will soon also be releasing a large set of independently derived doubled haploid onion lines. A series of red onions adapted to NYS is also well advanced in development. Finally, onion lines homozygous for BLB resistance have been created, and should be released after another generation for selection of type and seed increase.