Michael Mazourek

Last updated
Michael R. Mazourek
OccupationPlant breeder

Michael R. Mazourek is a plant breeder and associate professor at Cornell University [1] notable for developing the honeynut squash, a cultivar of a cross first developed by Cornell University plant breeder Richard W. Robinson, [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] creating the Habanada, [8] and Row 7 Seed Company, a seed company co-founded with Dan Barber of Blue Hill and Matthew Goldfarb. [9]

Contents

Biography

Mazourek attended Cornell University to study pepper biochemical genetics and through his work with Molly Jahn and Henry Munger became interested in plant breeding. [10] Mazourek earned his PhD from Cornell in 2008. [11]

Ripening honeynut squash Honeynut squash vine.jpg
Ripening honeynut squash

Mazourek is a public breeder who works on breeding for quality and disease resistance in peppers, peas and cucurbit crops. [12] [13] Notably, he has bred the honeynut squash and is working on breeding a cucumber that resists downy mildew. [14] To breed crops, he uses recurrent selection, crossing two plants that exhibit certain qualities to mix in diversity, with the final resulting plant having locked in traits of its parents. He licenses his breeds out to seed companies with a portion of the revenue going back to the lab. [13]

In 2018, Mazourek founded Row 7 Seed Company with chef Dan Barber and seedsman Matthew Goldfarb, with the goal to connect breeders with chefs. [15]

Honeynut Squash

As an associate professor in Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell, Mazourek had begun to breed a mini butternut squash but was having trouble selling the new breed to seed companies. In 2009, he met chef Dan Barber at a meal at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. During a kitchen tour, Barber asked “If you’re such a good breeder, why don’t you make this thing taste good? Why don’t you shrink the thing?!” Working closely with Barber, Mazourek began breeding the squash for flavor rather than yield, uncommon in the industry at that time. The resulting honeynut squash is more concentrated in flavor and was rapidly commercially successful. [16]

Related Research Articles

Agricultural biotechnology, also known as agritech, is an area of agricultural science involving the use of scientific tools and techniques, including genetic engineering, molecular markers, molecular diagnostics, vaccines, and tissue culture, to modify living organisms: plants, animals, and microorganisms. Crop biotechnology is one aspect of agricultural biotechnology which has been greatly developed upon in recent times. Desired trait are exported from a particular species of Crop to an entirely different species. These transgene crops possess desirable characteristics in terms of flavor, color of flowers, growth rate, size of harvested products and resistance to diseases and pests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dog breeding</span> Mating selected dogs for specific qualities

Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected dogs with the intention of maintaining or producing specific qualities and characteristics. When dogs reproduce without such human intervention, their offspring's characteristics are determined by natural selection, while "dog breeding" refers specifically to the artificial selection of dogs, in which dogs are intentionally bred by their owners. Breeding relies on the science of genetics, hence a breeder who is knowledgeable on canine genetics, health, and the intended purpose of the dogs attempts to breed suitable dogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landrace</span> Locally adapted variety of a species

A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolation from other populations of the species. Landraces are distinct from cultivars and from standard breeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open pollination</span> Pollination by natural agents, or true-breeding in plant varieties

"Open pollination" and "open pollinated" refer to a variety of concepts in the context of the sexual reproduction of plants. Generally speaking, the term refers to plants pollinated naturally by birds, insects, wind, or human hands.

Richard Keith Downey, is a Canadian agricultural scientist known for plant breeding and, as one of the originators of canola. He conducted his research at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and is largely responsible for transforming rapeseed into canola. His pioneering research has made him known as the "Father of Canola".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butternut squash</span> Cucurbita moschata; type of winter squash

Butternut squash, known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin or gramma, is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has tan-yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp with a compartment of seeds in the blossom end. When ripening, the flesh turns increasingly deep orange due to its rich content of beta-carotene, a provitamin A compound.

Animal breeding is a branch of animal science that addresses the evaluation of the genetic value of livestock. Selecting for breeding animals with superior EBV in growth rate, egg, meat, milk, or wool production, or with other desirable traits has revolutionized livestock production throughout the entire world. The scientific theory of animal breeding incorporates population genetics, quantitative genetics, statistics, and recently molecular genetics and is based on the pioneering work of Sewall Wright, Jay Lush, and Charles Henderson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gartons Limited</span>

Dr John Garton, of the firm of Garton Brothers of Newton-le-Willows in the United Kingdom was the Originator of Scientific Farm Plant Breeding. He is credited as the first scientist to show that the common grain crops and many other plants are self-fertilizing. He also invented the process of multiple cross-fertilization of crop plants.

<i>Cannabis</i> strain Plant varieties of Cannabis sativa L., pure or hybrid

Cannabis strains is a popular name to refer to plant varieties of the monospecific genus Cannabis sativa L.. They are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant, which encompasses various sub-species C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pumpkin</span> Category of culinary winter Cucurbita squashes

A pumpkin is a cultivated winter squash in the genus Cucurbita. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, though it does not possess a scientific definition and may be used in reference to many different squashes of varied appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Barber</span> American chef

Dan Barber is the chef and co-owner of Family Meal at Blue Hill in Manhattan and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York, United States. He is the author of The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant breeding</span> Humans changing traits, ornamental/crops

Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varieties that boast unique and superior traits for a variety of applications. The most frequently addressed agricultural traits are those related to biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, grain or biomass yield, end-use quality characteristics such as taste or the concentrations of specific biological molecules and ease of processing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habanero</span> Strain of chili (Capsicum)

The habanero is a hot variety of chili. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe habanero is 2–6 centimetres long. Habanero chilis are very hot, rated 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale. The habanero heat, flavor, and floral aroma make it a common ingredient in hot sauces and other spicy foods.

Eric Yirenkyi Danquah is a Ghanaian plant geneticist, professor, founding director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) and former director of the Biotechnology Centre at the University of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honeynut squash</span> Miniature winter squash

Honeynut squash is an interspecific hybrid winter squash cultivar bred from butternut and buttercup squash. It has dark tan to orange skin with orange fleshy pulp. When ripe, it turns from green to a deep orange and becomes sweeter and richer. Honeynut squash has a similar shape and flavor to butternut squash but averages about half the size and is sweeter. It has two to three times more beta-carotene than butternut squash. Honeynut squash can be roasted, sautéed, puréed, added to soups, stews, and braises, and has enough sugar content for desserts.

Molly Jahn is an American plant geneticist and breeder and Professor of Agronomy at University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. She was Under Secretary of Research, Education and Economics in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elwyn Meader</span> American agriculturalist

Elwyn Marshall Meader was an American botanist and plant scientist. Over the course of his career, Meader developed over 50 new strains of plum, peach, squash, rutabaga, sweet corn, melon, watermelon, salad bean, pod bean, pepper, pumpkin, nectarine, bush cherry, kiwi fruit, persimmon, cranberry, raspberry, and blueberry. He developed the Miss Kim Lilac from seeds of a wild lilac bush he found in the mountains of Korea and decided to name it after "all the Miss Kims in Korea".

Ronnie Coffman is an American plant scientist and professor. He is director of numerous research projects dedicated to international agriculture, food security and gender equity in agriculture. He received the World Agriculture Prize in 2013. He was named a 2019 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Row 7 Seed Company</span>

Row 7 Seed Company is an American seed company founded in 2018 by chef Dan Barber, plant breeder Michael Mazourek, and seedsman Matthew Goldfarb. Row 7 was founded to connect chefs and consumers with high flavor varieties of produce, including squash, potatoes, and tomatoes.

References

  1. "Michael R Mazourek | Horticulture Section". hort.cals.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  2. Mazourek, Michael; Wyatt, Lindsay; Hultengren, Rachel L. (2016-11-01). "A Suite of High-quality Butternut Squash". HortScience. 51 (11): 1435–1437. doi: 10.21273/HORTSCI10987-16 . ISSN   0018-5345.
  3. Bennett, Sophia McDonald (2015-11-10). "Plant Scientists Are Working With Chefs to Create New Fruits and Vegetables". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  4. "Meet the scientists breeding Vegetables for our changing environment". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  5. "Honeynut Is a Tiny Squash with a Big History". Bon Appétit. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  6. "Don't Squander That Squash: Like Fine Wine, It Might Improve With Age". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  7. "Researcher's squash hybrid changes color as it ripens". phys.org. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  8. "Enhancing the Flavor of Food through Plant Breeding | National Institute of Food and Agriculture". nifa.usda.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  9. Rao, Tejal (2018-02-27). "Seeds Only a Plant Breeder Could Love, Until Now". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  10. "Faces of Public Plant Breeding: Michael Mazourek". Organic Seed Alliance. 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  11. "Genetic ingenuity: What does it take to put produce on your plate?". May 6, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  12. "Radical Roots: Michael Mazourek". Stone Barns Center. 2015-08-01. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  13. 1 2 "Beautiful disasters: The wild, wilted world of plant scientists who breed crops ready to thrive on a climate-ravaged earth". The Counter. 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  14. "Scientists Are Fighting For The Stricken Pickle Against This Tricky Disease". December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  15. Rao, Tejal (2018-02-27). "Seeds Only a Plant Breeder Could Love, Until Now". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  16. "Honeynut Is a Tiny Squash with a Big History". Bon Appétit. 2017-11-30. Retrieved 2023-12-09.