Here's What a Leading Lettuce Breeder Wants You to Know
What lettuce folks are looking forward to, and how the Cyclospora outbreak has changed the game.
In the town of Nipomo on California's central coast, Bill Waycott, an independent plant breeder, cultivates lettuces of the future. Waycott, who was laid off from a USDA job in the 1990s, started his own company in 2014, focusing on breeding better lettuces. His recent work includes developing a lettuce nicknamed "Spinach Lettuce" due to its resemblance to spinach in growth and taste, as well as its higher nutritional value.
The Spinach Lettuce boasts more fiber, protein, calcium, iron, vitamin C, and vitamin A compared to iceberg lettuce. Waycott believes that improving the nutrition of lettuce by even 5-10% could have a significant impact on the North American diet.
However, the lettuce breeder has faced numerous challenges in recent years. The recent Cyclospora outbreak, traced to a Mexican farm, has severely impacted the lettuce industry, causing a 30% drop in sales and leading to the plowing under of mature lettuce fields. The outbreak has also highlighted the need for better disease resistance in lettuces, with Waycott mentioning that there are currently five major issues - three fungi, one bacterium, and one virus - causing havoc in California's lettuce production.
He is working on breeding lettuces that can resist these diseases, but the rapid mutation and formation of new races make it a particularly difficult task.
Written by urgent.news from Time's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
