While many pear growers in the Pacific Northwest have welcomed Dr. Amit Dhingra’s efforts to push the pear industry into the twenty-first century, some have not. While some urged the Washington State University genomicist to apply for funding to do research to help modernize the pear industry, a few people vehemently discouraged him, he reports. “I think it’s a natural reaction to change.” Bob Gix, co-chair of the research subcommittee of the Fresh and Processed Pear Committees, said there are different points of view within the industry. On the one hand, some people fear that growers with traditional systems in […]