Private Sector Fruit Breeder Wins Pomological Award
August 17, 2020 International Fruit Genetics (IFG), one of the world’s largest fruit-breeding companies, has announced that its Founder and Chief Plant Breeder, Dr. David Cain, has been awarded the 2020 Wilder Medal, the highest honor presented by the American Pomological Society. This medal recognizes Dr. Cain’s contributions throughout his 42-year career in fruit breeding.
Dr. Cain has developed or co-developed 94 cultivars of fruits, including 66 table grapes, 10 sweet cherries, nine plums, four apricots, four peaches, and one nectarine cultivar. His developments have had an impact worldwide, being grown on all continents except Antarctica. These developments have resulted in an impressive 75-plus U.S. plant patents, over 20 additional U.S. plant patents applied for, and more than 200 Plant Breeders Rights applications in the world.
“This award is substantial recognition for all that Dr. Cain has accomplished and contributed to the industry over his career,” said Andy Higgins, CEO of IFG. “His vision and impact have changed the table grape industry. We are excited he has received such an esteemed and significant award for his work.”
Dr. Cain founded IFG in 2000 to fulfill a long-term personal goal to carry out many of his ideas and dreams in fruit cultivar improvement. This private breeding endeavor in Bakersfield/Delano, CA, started with only a limited germplasm of base, primarily of publicly released cultivars. His familiarity with public varieties of table grapes and their potential as parents provided a major benefit to the IFG program. Additionally, he reviewed germplasm holdings in table grapes at the USDA National Germplasm Repository in Davis, CA, and chose selected parents for breeding from this collection.
The Wilder Medal, established by the American Pomological Society in 1873, is conferred on individuals or organizations that have rendered outstanding service to horticulture in the broad area of pomology. Special consideration is given to work relating to the origination and introduction of meritorious. Most winners come from the public sector, such as the two most recent recipients, Greg Reighard of Clemson University in 2018, and Essie Fallahi of the University of Idaho last year.
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