Display Title

Hop Breeding and Wild Hops in Minnesota​

​Broadcast Date: June 20, 2017 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM CST

​Webinar Summary

At the turn of the twentieth century, hop production in the Midwest was declining due to disease and was finally driven away due to prohibition. More recently, hops in the Midwest h​ave made a renaissance due to the burgeoning craft beer industry. Keeping these two factors in mind, research at the University of Minnesota has been primarily focused on delivering sustainable disease management practices to commercial growers while working on developing varieties adapted to the unique climate of the Midwest. To do this, researchers have been evaluating native hops as a source for disease resistance and local adaptation.

Webinar Agenda:

• Hop Botany, Cultivation, and Distribution
• Wild Hops at UMN
• Hop Breeding at UMN
• State of the Hop Industry in Minnesota
• Summary and Future Work
• Q&A Session

What attendees will take away:

• Quality hops can be grown in Minnesota, but varietal selection will be the single largest determinant of success. The University of Minnesota is working towards development of locally-adapted, disease resistant, hop varieties that are commercially successful for local growers.
• Hops are ubiquitous in the North America and can be found growing in the wild in Minnesota. These local populations are likely adapted to our climate and growing season, making them perfect materials to begin with in a breeding program. These populations are also genetically unique and likely contain many novel traits, including those such as disease or pest resistance.

About the Presenter

Josh Havill University of Minnesota

Josh Havill is a Ph. D. student in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of Minnesota. Josh has been an involved in hop research in Minnesota for the past several years studying disease management in commercial production and plant disease resistance. Josh hopes he can contribute to the expansion of craft beer industry in the Midwest through identifying sustainable solutions for commercial growers.​