麻豆传媒

Think of your favourite variety of apple. You can probably imagine it to the point of tasting it on your tongue: a crisp Golden Delicious, a juicy McIntosh, a tart Gravenstein. Now, try the same with your favourite wine: Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir.

These fruit cultivars you鈥檝e enjoyed for years have been around for a long, long time.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been drinking Pinot Noir for 1,000 years, for example, and it hasn鈥檛 really changed,鈥� says Sean Myles, an internationally renowned fruit researcher in Dal鈥檚 Faculty of Agriculture. 鈥淲e have a massive attachment to particular grapes and apples, way more than in other crops, and this leads to heritage varieties.鈥�

We like what we like; what鈥檚 wrong with that?

鈥淧athogens continue to evolve and if our crops don鈥檛, that鈥檚 a huge problem,鈥� explains Dr. Myles, noting that diseases and pests are consistently becoming stronger, more threatening.

鈥淩amping up the arms race in agro-chemical weaponry isn鈥檛 the answer. Easier, more efficient breeding could be.鈥�

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