U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Northeast Area
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        
                Northeast Area Cities

                    Washington, D.C.
                            Newark, Delaware
                            Boston, Massachusetts
                            Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC)
                            Beltsville, Maryland (BARC)
                            Frederick, Maryland
                            Orono, Maine
                            Geneva, New York
                            Ithaca, New York
                            University Park, Pennsylvania
                            Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania
                            Kearneysville, West Virginia
                            Leetown, West Virginia
                            Burlington, Vermont


                    Civil Rights & EEO Policy StatementsSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Northeast Area Docs Hot Research Topics







Mapping Berry Fruit Genes  At the Genetic Improvement of Fruits and Vegetables Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, ARS plant geneticist Kimberly Lewers is studying the genetic control of repeat fruiting in strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry. Repeat fruiting has been an extremely valuable trait to the strawberry industry in California and areas with similar mild climates. "The goal in these climates, and now also on the East Coast and in the Midwest, is to develop a combination of cultivars and production systems that together produce fruit nearly year round," she says. Lewers has been analyzing data she received from collaborators at Michigan State University in East Lansing who crossed a June-bearing strawberry cultivar with a repeat-fruiting cultivar. Plants from the resulting seedling population were observed by ARS, university, and industry collaborators for their flowering habit throughout the growing season in Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, Oregon, and California. They found that the genetic control of repeat fruiting was different in strawberry plants grown in relatively hotter Maryland climates than those grown in the milder, West Coast climates of Oregon and California. ARS plant geneticist Chad Finn, with the Horticultural Crops Research Unit in Corvallis, Oregon, collaborated on this research. Finn and Lewers will use the findings from this research model to predict which seedlings in their breeding programs will be capable of repeat fruiting.-By Rosalie Marion Bliss, Agricultural Research Service Information Staff. **Agricultural Reasearch magazine, August 2008 Complete Article**


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov