Floyd Zaiger
{{Short description|American fruit breeder (1926–2020)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox scientist
| image =
| image_size =
| name = Floyd Zaiger
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth-date|April 26, 1926}}
| birth_place = Kennard, Nebraska
| field = Biology, pomology, fruit hybridizing
| work_institution = Zaiger's Genetics
| alma_mater = UC Davis
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|06|02|1926|04|26}}
| death_place = Modesto, California
}}
File:Raspberry_jewel_pluot.jpg
Chris "Floyd" Zaiger (April 26, 1926 – June 2, 2020) was an American fruit breeder particularly known for hybrid development of stone fruit and numerous plant patents. Zaiger founded Zaiger's Genetics, a fruit-breeding business in Modesto, California, which is now an international business selling cultivars and hybrids.{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2004/12/01/8214501/index.htm |title=Designer Fruit|last=Adler |first=Carlye |date=1 December 2004 |work=CNN |accessdate=30 January 2010}} Zaiger developed varieties such as the pluot, and has been called "the most prolific stone fruit breeder in the modern era."{{cite news|title=California breeder keeps perfecting peaches, plums|author=Raquel Maria Dillon|newspaper=Associated Press|date=October 22, 2010}}
Early life and education
Chris Floyd Zaiger was born to Christian Fredrick Zaiger and Anna Marie Zaiger on April 26, 1926, in Kennard, Nebraska. The family moved to Iowa and then Oregon, before coming to California's San Joaquin Valley. He attended school until eighth grade and worked as a migrant strawberry picker. During World War II, he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served as a paratrooper in the 11th Airborne Division.{{Cite web|last=Karp|first=David|date=2020-06-12|title=Floyd Zaiger, prolific fruit breeder who brought new flavors to our lives, dies at 94|url=https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2020-06-12/floyd-zaiger-fruit-breeder-dies|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-14|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} Zaiger earned a degree in plant pathology and agricultural education in 1952 from the University of California, Davis.{{Cite web|last=Eddy|first=David|date=2017-07-05|title=Floyd Zaiger is the Sweetness Scientist Behind Zaiger Genetics|url=https://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/stone-fruit/floyd-zaiger-is-the-sweetness-scientist-behind-zaiger-genetics/|access-date=2020-06-14|website=Growing Produce|language=en-US}} He taught agriculture classes at Modesto city high schools, Livingston High School, and Modesto Junior College.{{Cite web|title=About Zaiger Genetics {{!}} Dave Wilson Nursery|url=https://www.davewilson.com/product-information-general/about-zaiger-genetics|access-date=2020-06-14|website=www.davewilson.com}}
Career
In 1954, Zaiger and wife Betty purchased a 2.5 acre nursery and began breeding heat-tolerant azaleas as a hobby. In 1956 and 1957, he apprenticed with breeder Fred Anderson, a protege of Luther Burbank and developer of the nectarine. While the Zaiger family continued to operate an ornamental nursery until 1990, Zaiger and family are better known for fruit variety development.{{cite news|author=Jon Bonné|date=June 12, 2011|title=Farmer creates new fruit, perfects old varieties (Floyd Zaiger, a fruit innovator to the world)|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Floyd-Zaiger-a-fruit-innovator-to-the-world-2368432.php}} The family-owned company Zaiger Genetics cross-pollinates by hand, rather than gene-splicing or DNA manipulation, to develop new hybrids.{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/22/floyd-zaiger-pluot-creato_n_772361.html |title=Floyd Zaiger: 'Pluot' Creator Continues Perfecting Fruit With Meticulous, Low-Tech Breeding Methods |last=Dillon |first=Raquel Maria |date=22 October 2010 |work=The Huffington Post |accessdate=26 July 2010}} As of 2020, they have patented 446 plant varieties.{{Cite web|last=Eddy|first=David|date=2020-06-08|title=Fruit Breeder Extraordinaire Floyd Zaiger Dies|url=https://www.growingproduce.com/fruits/fruit-breeder-extraordinaire-floyd-zaiger-dies/|access-date=2020-06-14|website=Growing Produce|language=en-US}}
Zaiger's first patented varieties were the Royal Gold peach, introduced in 1965, and ‘Crimson Gold’ nectarine. He revolutionized the plum industry by backcrossing plum-apricot hybrids with plums to create the Pluot. His work has also reduced the chill-hours needed for fruits like cherries which allow them to be grown in warmer climates and produced peaches and nectarines that are sweet, yet firm allowing for intercontinental shipping. Another invention, the 'Independence' almond is self-fertile allowing pollination without the use of honeybees needed for other almond varieties. He created the aprium, a hybrid cross between apricots and plums but more similar to apricots.{{Cite web|last=Garcia|first=Janis|date=2018-05-25|title=What are apriums and how do you eat them?|url=https://www.dailyharvestexpress.com/what-are-apriums-how-to-eat/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Daily Harvest Express|language=en-US|quote=Who is the mad genius who originally bred the aprium? Floyd Zaiger from Modesto California.}}
Personal life
Awards and recognition
- 1995 Wilder Award from the American Pomological Society for "distinguished service and contributions to the advancement of pomological science and for outstanding fruit varieties" {{cite web|url=http://americanpomological.org/wilder2.html|title=The Wilder Medal|publisher=American Pomological Society|accessdate=March 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050116004648/http://americanpomological.org/wilder2.html|archive-date=January 16, 2005|url-status=dead}}
- 1997 Awarded rank of Officier, Ordre du Mérite Agricole{{cite web|url=http://www.davewilson.com/product-information-general/about-zaiger-genetics|title=About Zaiger Genetics|publisher=Dave Wilson Nurseries|accessdate=March 21, 2014}}
- 1999 Alumni Award of Distinction award from UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences {{cite web|title=Chris Floyd Zaiger, 1999 Award of Distinction Recipients|url=http://www.caes.ucdavis.edu/connect/events/college-celebration/recipients/1999-award-of-distinction-recipients#11|accessdate=March 21, 2014|publisher=UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences|archive-date=March 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322001019/http://www.caes.ucdavis.edu/connect/events/college-celebration/recipients/1999-award-of-distinction-recipients#11|url-status=dead}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite news|title=Farmer creates new fruit, perfects old varieties (Floyd Zaiger, a fruit innovator to the world)|author=Jon Bonné|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=June 12, 2011|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Floyd-Zaiger-a-fruit-innovator-to-the-world-2368432.php}}
- {{cite news|title='The Disneyland of fruits': Firm creates new varieties -- the old-fashioned way|newspaper=Sacramento Bee|author=Anne Gonzales|date=October 9, 2011|page=D1}}
External links
- [http://www.davewilson.com/product-information-general/about-zaiger-genetics About Zaiger Genetics]
- [https://archive.org/details/InterviewWithFloydZaiger Interview with Floyd Zaiger The man who introduced the Kiwi (Internet Archive Audio)]
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaiger, Floyd}}
Category:People from Washington County, Nebraska
Category:American horticulture businesspeople
Category:University of California, Davis alumni
Category:People from Modesto, California