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Quality Control Laboratory
About
About
Established in 2016, the mission of the Sierra Gold Nurseries molecular biology lab was to provide in-house genetic testing in support of greater nursery operations. Since 2019, we have tested over 800 trees, with another 150 set to be tested this year. We employ a staff of experienced technicians and use state-of-the-art tools with industry-standard protocols...Read More
Dr. Micah E. Steves, Ph.D.
Micah E. Stevens, Ph.D.
The QC lab has been run by
Micah E. Stevens, Ph.D. since 2019.
Dr. Stevens received his BS in Horticultural Science from the University of Kentucky before earning his M.S. and Ph.D. in
Forest Tree Genetics from Purdue University. Since joining Sierra Gold, Micah has worked relentlessly to update and advance the testing capabilities of the Quality Control Lab, and continues to work to keep pace with the needs of the nursery and the industry.
Material Sourcing
Material Sourcing
DNA Verification
DNA Verification
As the number of rootstocks and varieties available to growers continues to increase it is paramount to ensure everything stays true-to-type. In addition to the stringent inventory tracking that the nursery performs, the QC lab also performs...Read More
Pathogen Screening
Pathogen Screening
The QC lab has the ability to screen for 16 different plant pathogens, but we focus the most on Little Cherry Disease (LCD). LCD is a disease complex of Little Cherry Virus-2 (LChV-2) and Western-X (Wx) phytoplasma. The combination of these...Read More
Virus Elimination
Virus Elimination
Our QC lab is also positioned to eliminate viruses from any new promising breeding material. As we continue to refine our techniques, we are using a combination of meristeming, which is a method that removes a very small amount of material from the growing to that which has not yet been infested with the virus, as well as thermotherapy and chemotherapy. Removing virus from plant material is a slow process, but it is highly valuable in order to provide disease-free material to the industry...Read More
In The News
In The News
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