Rancho Tissue Technologies launches new food crops division
“This is a great opportunity to apply our rigorous standards to fill a need in the food crops market,” says Owner and Founder Heather May.
Crops will be produced by tissue culture, using the gold-standard protocols and quality controls for which Rancho Tissue is known.
Hazelnuts (Corylus) are the first crop available through Rancho Tissue’s new division. Plant material is sourced from the USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis.
Rancho Tissue anticipates the first hazelnut plants, in Stage III or 72-cell liners, will be ready for sale in March. Growers will be pleased to know the heirloom variety Barcelona, an in-demand bud mite resistant and EFB (Eastern Filbert Blight) susceptible cultivar, will be part of the offering. Additional varieties – all EFB resistant – will include:
• Jefferson: grown for the in-shell market
• Sacajawea: kernel market
• Yamhill: kernel market
• Epsilon: late pollinizer
• Delta: late pollinizer
• Zeta: late pollinizer
• Theta: pollinizer for Corylus Jefferson
Other crops on the horizon include walnuts, blueberries, raspberries, almonds, avocados, goji berries and bananas.
For more information or to order these and other RTT varieties, call 858-756-6785 or visit www.ranchotissue.com to find a broker.