Carposina sasakii (peach fruit moth).

C. sasakii is a pest of rosaceous fruits in eastern Asia, and does not spread easily to the non-native areas and countries. C. sasakii has the potential to fly long distances, but usually flies only within and between canopies of fruit trees. Aerial dispersal to non-native areas has not been recorded. International trade of rosaceous fruits is a possible cause of spread of C. sasakii, but it is difficult for it to enter non-native countries under quarantine inspection. Even if C. sasakii enters non-native countries by international trade, it is not easy to establish a population, probably because the larvae in fruits cannot find a cocooning site near rosaceous plants after escaping from the fruits. However, C. sasakii has a strong impact on the management of rosaceous fruit orchards once a population is established. Damage to fruits can reach 100% in some cases in pears [Pyrus spp.] and 40-100% in apples [Malus spp.] if not controlled.

U.S. Growers’ Willingness to Pay for Improvement in Rosaceous Fruit Traits

As growers adopt and diffuse improved food crop cultivars, their investment decisions for producing new cultivars control product accessibility and directly affect the entire supply chain. In this study, we estimated growers’ willingness to invest (willingness to pay (WTP)) in cultivars with improved quality traits for five rosaceous fruit crops: apple, peach, strawberry, sweet cherry, and tart cherry. WTP values differed by crop, but fruit flavor was consistently rated one of the most important traits, with higher WTP. This information will help breeding programs focus resources to develop superior cultivars for long-term economic sustainability of the rosaceous fruit industry.

Technical and Socioeconomic Challenges to Setting and Implementing Priorities in North American Rosaceous Fruit Breeding Programs

Rosaceous crops (e.g., almond, apple, apricot, caneberry, cherry, pear, peach, plum, rose, and strawberry) contribute to human health and well-being and collectively constitute the economic backbone of numerous North American rural communities. We conducted a survey of U.S. and Canadian rosaceous fruit crop breeders to assess priority setting in their programs, sources of information for setting priorities, and challenges in making technical and management decisions. Input from producers and consumers was most important in establishing breeding program targets, although respondents’ direct interaction with consumers was not frequent. Breeding targets and management decisions were mostly associated with the breeder’s type of organization, scope and range of crops, and intended use of the crop (fresh, processed, or both).

An Investigation of Trait Prioritization in Rosaceous Fruit Breeding Programs

Over 60 rosaceous crop breeding programs exist in North America, but no information has been available on which traits are targeted for selection or how breeders make such decisions. We surveyed all active rosaceous fruit breeding programs in the United States and Canada to determine: 1) the relative importance of over 50 plant traits that breeders select for 2) the likelihood of selection for the most important traits; and 3) the factors influencing breeders’ decisions. A double-bounded Tobit model was used to investigate the effect of supply chain parties, technical and socioeconomic challenges, and crop characteristics on the likelihood of selection for trait clusters. We found that consumer-driven forces positively impact the likelihood of selection for traits more than producer forces and a breeder’s own experience. Technical factors are as important as socioeconomic factors but less important than market-related factors. Our findings provide the first ever evidence that a socioeconomic approach in specialty crop breeding programs can contribute to an improved understanding of the effects of different supply chain factors on breeding programs’ trait priority setting.