When Dr. Amit Dhingra joined Washington State University seven years ago as a plant genomicist, one thing immediately struck him about the tree fruit industry. Apples were a 2-billion-dollar high-tech industry, and the cherry industry was also advancing quickly, propelled by new varieties and ­rootstocks. “These industries are on the move,” he noticed. “But in pears, we had not seen much advance in the last 100 years. It’s an industry which requires more application of knowledge so we can bring in change and transition.” Dhingra began visiting pear growers and researchers in Washington, Oregon, and California, who together grow the […]