Via Station News blog:
Open house at ARS’ Plant Genetic Resources Unit
Tours every hour featuring the unit’s collection of apples and other fruits and vegetables from around the world.
Friday, Sept. 9, 2011
Noon to 5 p.m.
McCarthy Farm, 2865 County Road 6, Geneva, NY 14456
For additional details and directions, contact Gennaro Fazio, 315-787-2480, gennaro.fazio@ars.usda.gov
News release:
GENEVA, N.Y., August 31 – On September 9, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Plant Genetic Resources Unit here will give residents of New York’s Finger Lakes region an extraordinary opportunity to see, smell and taste ARS’ vast collection of fruits and vegetables as the unit opens its doors for its second annual Open House. The unit’s more than 2,500 varieties of apples include some that are as familiar as the local supermarket’s produce section, but others that hail from distant and exotic locations.
ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The mission of the Plant Genetic Resources Unit is to acquire, maintain, characterize and distribute plant genetic resources of selected fruit and vegetable crops to develop new hardy varieties that can stand up to pests, diseases and environmental stresses.