What We Do – Variety Development

At the heart of Sun World’s business is an abiding commitment to developing new fruit varieties that can be grown in a sustainable way and optimized for yield, flavor, and appearance. That work is led by Sun World geneticists and plant breeders and is supported by a team of research associates, technicians and agronomists who develop best practices for increasing the quality and production of crops.

To fuel their important work, Sun World opened a Center for Innovation on a 160-acre campus near Bakersfield, CA. It features a 17,000-square-foot building with laboratories for molecular breeding, seedling transfers and post-harvest assessment, plus a large experimental research farm. Variety development to date has largely focused on grapes and stone fruit, but the future holds promise for the commercialization of adjacent fruit crops.

Fall 2020 Opening of the Sun World Center for Innovation