2008 International
Interns Appointed
Over the
years Sun World
has hosted interns
from various
countries and we
are happy once
again to be able
to appoint
internships for
the upcoming
season.
Competition for
internships has
been strong and
selecting two
candidates from
among such a great
field is always
difficult.
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|
Raffaella Didonna |
The 2008
Grape Internship
was awarded to
Raffaella Didonna
from Bari, Italy.
Raffaella works
with Didonna Trade
SRL as Quality,
Organic
Agriculture, and
Marketing Manager.
Didonna Trade is a
respected company
in the industry
and Raffaella
plays an important
role in the areas
of innovation and
company relations.
She manages the
company's public
relations and is a
member of the
Table Grape
National
Committee. She is
also a qualified
lawyer and is
working to expand
the scope of the
company in several
areas. One of
those areas is the
incorporation of
new innovative
grape cultivars
and Raffaella has
been instrumental
in the testing and
development of new
Sun World table
grape cultivars.
At Sun World
Research and
Development Center
Raffaella will
work with the
breeder to
coordinate field
and post harvest
lab data
collection
associated with
commercial trials
of new Sun World
grape cultivars.
She will also gain
first hand
experience working
with the breeding
programs,
production
managers and
quality assurance
personnel at Sun
World.
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|
Bob Wickson with
Carla Fry |
This year's
Stone Fruit
Internship was
awarded to Carla
Fry, from
Como, Western
Australia, who
works with Mercer
Mooney, a company
that operates in
Western Australia
under the Montague
Fresh Sun World
license.
Carla grew up on a
family orchard and
currently works as
Stone Fruit
Ripening
Coordinator for
Mercer Mooney,
selecting fruit
for ripening and
monitoring fruit
ripening. She also
evaluates
different stone
fruit varieties
with respect to
ripening potential
and and provides
reports to
Montague Fresh.
At Sun
World Research and
Development Center
Carla will
coordinate post
harvest
evaluations of new
stone fruit
varieties in
commercial test
and in commercial
trials, taking
data on size
distribution,
defects, firmness
and brix. During
the time she is
here Carla will
also coordinate storage trials
and participate in
breeding
population studies.
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|
2008 Fruit Season
Begins in the Coachella
Valley |
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|
Supechfifteen
AMBER CREST®
Brand |
The
California
stone fruit
season
begins
with Sun
World’s low
chill*
peaches in
the
Coachella
Valley and
that is a
point of
pride for
manager
Stuart
Musashi and
staff, Paco
Hernandez
and Romel
Gomez, who
manage Sun
World’s
earliest
AMBERCREST®
cultivars,
Supechthirteen
and
Supechfifteen.
Gomez, who
has been
helping to
supervise
the harvest
noted the
importance
of
experience
when growing
low chill
stone fruit,
“We have the
earliest
peaches in
the country
and we want
to do it
right and
build our
reputation
with
buyers,”
adding, “The
fruit hangs
on the tree
for only a
short time
and we want
to peak on
large 60’s
and 50’s
sizes
(65-68mm)
because the
next smaller
size can be
$11-12 less
per box. We
thin fruit
at the right
time and
leave the
right amount
of fruit per
tree to get
the best
production
and size.
And then we
make sure we
pick at the
right
maturity to
have the
best
flavor.”
Growing
stone fruit in the
Coachella Valley
can be a challenge
and Sun World’s
stone fruit
breeder, Terry
Bacon noted that
you have to have
the right
cultivars as well
as the right
grower to make it
work. Bacon
develops peaches
nectarines and
plums specifically
adapted to low
chill regions like
Coachella. He also
evaluates
rootstocks for low
chill regions and
helps to develop
management
strategies there
for optimizing
production and
quality.
“Coachella is a
desert, and
conditions there
are harsh.” said
Bacon, “Stone
fruit has gone in
and failed in that
region several
times over the
years, mostly do
to poor cultivars,
but also due to
inexperienced
growers. There is
no getting it
right 99% of the
time because the
region is so
unforgiving. They
have 4 months with
average maximum
temperatures over
100F (38C), and
winters there
might be great for
tourists and
retirees, but they
are too warm for
most stone fruit
cultivars. We’ve
had warm winters,
no winter,
sandstorms, and
heat waves, but
each season we
improve a little
bit more.” Bacon
likes the
Supechfifteen
peach (pictured
above) because of
how it handles the
harsh environment
in Coachella, "It
is great to see 3,
4, or 5 fruit on a
hanger, all sizing
up well; you don't
see that with the
earliest fruit in
the SJV".
‘Dual-Use
Cultivars’ grown
in Coachella and
the SJV.
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|
Sunectwentyone
in Coachella Valley |
Bacon has
discovered that
some of the new
low chill
cultivars
developed for the
Coachella
environment
perform very well
in early areas of
the San Joaquin
Valley where they
ripen about one
month later. In
fact Bacon found
that many
out-perform
commercial
cultivars
developed
specifically for
traditional
regions.
“Coachella is a
‘trial-by-fire’
for new cultivars;
they have so much
environmental
pressure put on
them there that
they really take
off when planted
in the SJV”, noted
Bacon. “We are
discovering
incredible
dual-use potential
for many of our
new low chill
cultivars. For
example
Sunectwentyone
nectarine
(pictured) and
PE216 peach
perform well in
both areas and we
now have limited
commercial
production in
early April in
Coachella and in
early May in the
SJV for both. It’s
like getting two
cultivars for
one,” said Bacon.
April
9th
Fruit Trial
now available on
sunworldfruit.com
The Fruit Trial
season has kicked
off at Sun World
with our first
trial, held in a
peach orchard in
the Coachella
Valley, showing
peaches and
nectarines. You
must have a
licensee user name
and password to
view and print the
reports.
* Low chill
refers to
the low amount of
winter ‘chilling’
temperatures
(temperatures
between 32-45F,
0-7.2C) required
to satisfy a
cultivar’s
dormancy so that
it can bloom and
set fruit
properly. Low
chill cultivars
require 100-200
chilling hours to
come out of
dormancy.
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David Marguleas
Recognized by The Packer |
Congratulations to
David Marguleas for
being recognized among the
Packer’s ‘Top 25 industry
leaders.”
For the fourth year,
The Packer, a
leading trade publication
for the fresh fruit and
vegetable industry, has
published “The Top 25” which
is an elite cadre of produce
veterans recognized as the
top leaders and achievers in
the produce industry. They
begin this annual
recognition process with
their news and advertising
staff evaluating a list of
industry professionals
comprising retailers,
wholesalers and growers.
“Making a difference” in the
produce industry is what
this chosen group of
twenty-five individuals have
in common.
The article noted that
David comes from a
lineage of agricultural
pioneers. His father is Sun
World founder Howard
Marguleas and his
grandfather, Joseph, founded
Heggblade -Marguleas, a 20th
century pillar of California
agriculture. David’s
“trademark” with the company
has been his expertise in
protecting Sun World’s
signature brands and
trademarks. David states,
“Management of the company’s
intellectual property
portfolio and the
accompanying creation of an
international licensing
program are signature Sun
World achievements that I
continue to believe have the
potential to alter the fruit
production and marketing
landscape globally.”
His career path began
with a degree in
communications from Cornell
University followed with
positions as a journalist
for various newspapers. In
1986 he joined Sun World as
Manager of Merchandising and
Corporate Relations. Four
years later (1990), he was
appointed an officer of the
company; Senior Vice
President of Marketing and
Corporate Development, he
later added responsibility
for variety development and
licensing and was recently
promoted to Chief Marketing
Officer.
