ADAM BOLTON isn’t one to limit himself. The 27-year-old fourth-year PhD candidate in the Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been all over the map in terms of plant breeding. He’s worked with peppers in Florida, maize in Illinois, and is now focusing on what’s become his favourite plant — the carrot. “I started off in forestry, tree physiology specifically. I was really inter- ested in what made trees work ever since I was a kid. That pulled me into horticulture and wine grapes. One of my mentors, a sweet pepper breeder in Florida, said ‘If you really want to breed vegetables, I know a guy at UW Madison.’ That led me to carrots,” he says. “I realized here’s a crop with a rich breeding history, but there’s a lot that still needs to be done. It was an opportunity to study this beautiful, colourful crop and take it somewhere.” For his PhD studies, he looks at the physiology and genetics of salt and heat tolerance in diverse carrot germplasm with the goal of devel- oping new breeding material. Climate change has necessitated the development of salt and heat-tolerant varieties of carrots, especially for developing countries where lack of Vitamin A in the diet is an issue. “A big difference I’d like to make is to get more international breeders working together. There are a lot of places around the world still strug- gling to make enough food for their people,” he says. He’s also excited by the opportunity to give consumers more choice in the carrots they’re able to buy. His favourite variety is called Purple Haze. The name says it all. “Of course, we have orange carrots, but there are a lot of other colours. Carrots have so much potential from a flavour and appearance standpoint which in some ways we’re only beginning to tap,” he says. “In breeding, you have to be persistent, keep trying, and eventually you’ll find some success. Try a bunch of different things and stick with what you like.” Ksenija Gasic, peach breeder at Clemson University in South Carolina and incoming chair of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee (PBCC) which originally founded the National Association of Plant Breeders, has made a career out of applying the right tools to fulfill the tastes of consumers. She began as a fruit breeder in Serbia and came to North America to learn to use new molecular tools in her work. For Gasic, breeding the perfect peach is a pleasure that never gets old. “The fun thing is seeing something you created that brings pleasure to others. I was evaluating crosses I made in 2015 and after walking through the field tasting plenty of bad, acidic peaches, finally found one that had the perfect flavour. Everyone in the lab loved it. That’s the highlight for me, finding that unique combination of traits that impact consumers’ lives.” TRYABITOFEVERYTHING Peach breeder Ksenija Gasic. The carrot is a hugely diverse crop. Borlaug Scholar Adam Bolton. ON LOCATION: NAPB 2018 • GUELPH, ON 16 GERMINATION.CA NOVEMBER 2018