The North American Small Fruit Industry 1903-2003. II. Contributions of Public and Private Research in the Past 25 Years and a View to the Future

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Molecular biology offers great promise for improvement of small fruit crops, both by genetic modification (Jimenez-Bermudez et al., 2002; Martin, 2002; McNicol and Graham, 1999; Mezzitti et al., 2002a, 2002b; Morgan et al., 2002; Serres et al., 1997) and by use of markers. Polashock and Vorsa (2002b) used markers for separation and estimation of genetic similarity among American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) clones where years of encroachment by wild vines and seedlings has left the identity of propagation stock in question. Marker assisted selection (MAS) has been successfully applied to many crops (Staub et al., 1996), and may be a valuable tool for small fruit crops, especially for disease resistance breeding (Graham and Smith, 2002; Lerceteau-Kohler et al., 2002; Nourse et al., 2002). MAS is not a tool that will benefit all breeding programs (Luby and Shaw, 2001), but it has already found use. For example, the Driscoll Strawberry Associates, Inc. (DSA) strawberry-breeding program now routinely screens about one-fourth of its 80,000-plus annual seedling population for one or more selectable marker. We realize significant savings in time and expense by using this process for select populations. Unfortunately, the acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods in North America and Europe has been poor, especially for fresh produce. Consumers are wary of GM food, unless it is clearly safe and clearly of benefit to the consumer. Until recently, most of the work has focused on traits that would improve production, not those that clearly enhance the safety or nutritional value of the harvested crop (Aharoni and OʼConnell, 2002; Jimenez-Bermudez et al., 2002; Martin, 2002; Morgan, 2002; Owens et al., 2002; Zeldin et al., 2002). We still must wait to see the benefit of this area of research. Programs that can use a combination of traditional breeding, marker assisted selection when appropriate, and transformation will probably be in the strongest position in the future (Polashock and Vorsa, 2002a).