Monday, November 5, 2007 - 10:15 AM
84-2

Genetic Vulnerability of the U.S. Sour Cherry Industry: Lessons from the near Total Crop Loss in 2002.

Amy Iezzoni, Michigan State University, Department of Horticulture, East Lansing, MI 48824

The sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) industry in the United States provides an example of an agricultural crop with extreme genetic vulnerability to disasters caused by pests, diseases, and unfavorable weather conditions. The entire U.S. sour cherry industry is based on one 400 year-old cultivar named ‘Montmorency’ and Michigan and the Great Lakes Region produces 80% of the nation’s sour cherries.  Unfortunately, the vulnerability of this monoculture was realized in 2002 as spring freeze damage reduced sour cherry production to the lowest level recorded since 1945 (i.e. 2% of a normal crop) with a devastating effect on the industry and economy of the fruit growing regions.  Would cultivar diversification have prevented this dramatic crop loss? An evaluation of pistil freeze damage from 21 other sour cherry selections planted along side 'Montmorency' indicated that the nearly complete crop loss experienced in 2002 would have been greatly reduced if the industry had been growing an array of genotypes.

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