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July 30, 2002
CONTACT: Linda McCandless, llm3@cornell.edu, 315-787-2417
GENEVA, NY: International Plant Management, Inc., of Lawrence, MI, will represent the Cornell Research Foundation (CRF) and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in the introduction and marketing of an elite collection of approximately 30 stone fruit selections from Cornell University's stone fruit breeding program.
Under this arrangement, two new sweet cherries, BlackGold™ and WhiteGold®, are slated for release on August 1, 2002, during Cornell's 2002 Fruit Field Day, in Orleans County, NY. Two new plums, NY6 and NY9, are slated for release later this year, and two more sweet cherries for release in 2003.
"Fruit growers are looking for new options to diversify operations by expanding their plantings of stone fruits," says Robert L. Andersen, who has been Cornell's stone fruit breeder at the Experiment Station in Geneva since 1985. "We look forward to working with International Plant Management to get some of these new cherries and plums into the growers' hands."
"Cornell conducts fruit breeding research aimed at increasing profitability for New York orchardists and nurseries," said Hugh Price, department chairman of the horticultural sciences department at Geneva. "This program is over 100 years old and has previously released five peaches/nectarines, 11 plums, 11 cherries and three apricots. Some of these varieties have gained favor with growers, but marketing/promotional efforts to explain the value of our newest stone fruit releases has been lacking up until now. Our department is very enthusiastic about Cornell Research Foundation having secured the services of International Plant Management, Inc. to promote our newest stone fruit variety releases."
"This is an exciting group of new stone fruit varieties from one of the most distinguished stone fruit breeders in the world. Dr. Robert Andersen is an exceptional researcher and has assembled an impressive array of new varieties," said Wallace Heuser, owner of International Plant Management, Inc.
According to Richard Cahoon, CRF vice president and responsible for the license negotiations with International Plant Management, explained how the unique agreement will work. "This partnership is in the form of a license agreement-our traditional commercialization format. CRF has granted International Plant Management an exclusive license to commercialize selected Cornell stone fruit varieties in the United States, Canada, and Mexico through a program of sublicensing to interested nurseries."
The Foundation, which owns and manages all Cornell's intellectual property (including fruit varieties), has been granting licenses to many types of Cornell technology for years. This license is unique because most licensing by the CRF in the United States for Cornell fruit varieties has been non-exclusive. Cahoon expects the arrangement will be mutually beneficial to Cornell, International Plant Management, and the fruit industry.
International Plant Management, Inc., a 20-year-old company in Lawrence, MI, is developing a national network of testers. The Summer Fruit Growers Association of New York will cooperate in testing by evaluating Cornell/Geneva test selections in their orchards. As the best selections finish the final evaluation stage, they will be patented and trademarked by CRF, and sublicensed to nurseries by International Plant Management, Inc., who will make them available to commercial growers and the public.
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Note to Editors:
A related article on the cherries themselves with photographs is available at http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/press/current/2cherries02.html
International Plant Management can be reached at 1-800-424-2765.