Twenty Years of Grape Breeding: A Research Overview

Dr. Andrew Walker
University of California, Davis

We are pleased to host our 2009 Honorary Research Lecturer Professor Dr. Andrew Walker of the Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis.

A grape breeder/geneticist in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis since 1989, Dr. Walker is a familiar face in the worldwide conference circuit based on multiple research projects. He has developed new rootstocks with resistance to fanleaf degeneration, nematode complexes, phylloxera and, more recently, salinity. He is currently involved in breeding wine, raisin and table grapes that are resistant to Pierce’s disease and powdery mildew. In addition to his research work, Dr. Walker has served as chair of the Horticulture and Agronomy Graduate Group since 1997, which oversees master of science and doctorate degrees in viticulture. He has also served as Vice Chair of the Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis from 2005-2008, Secretary-Treasurer for ASEV from 1999-2004 and is an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture.  Currently, he is Chair of the National Grape Crop Germplasm Committee, which advises the USDA and represents grape germplasm interests at the national level. He was awarded the Louis P. Martini Endowed Chair in Viticulture in 2001.