strawberry
Cornell Professor Develops New Strawberry Variety, ‘Archer,’ After 15 Years
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After 17 years of testing, tasting, harvesting and waiting, Prof. Courtney Weber, horticulture and plant breeding, finally released his latest strawberry variety — the Archer — on Monday. Weber said the Archer is the eighth berry variety he has developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva since coming to Cornell in 1999. He has developed three raspberry varieties and four other strawberry varieties, the most recent being the Walker variety — currently being sold under the name Purple Wonder — and the Herriot, both released in 2012. Weber said the Archer has been in the making since the very beginning. “[Archer’s] actual seed was developed in 1999 but not planted until 2000, so it’s been kind of a long haul for this one,” Weber said.