American Society of Brewing ChemistsEventsWebinars

​Hop Breeding and Genetics with USDA-ARS​ | ASBC Webinar​​​

​Broadcast Date: January 25, 2022 | 12:00 Noon Central​

View O​n-Demand Webinar


Questions? Contact Bryan Mowry at ASBC


Webinar Summary

The USDA-ARS has played a major role in the development and sustainability of the U.S. hop industry through breeding, genetics, agronomics, and pathology since the initiation of public hop research efforts in the 1930s. In 2020, in response to stakeholder advocacy, USDA-ARS hop breeding and genetics efforts were expanded to include a new program in the heart of hop country in the Yakima Valley region of Washington. This program is mandated with developing new, publicly available hop varieties that have superior disease resistance, agronomics, brewing characteristics, and unique aromas. 

​Public hop varieties with no intellectual property protection provide more flexibility for growers and brewers, allowing them more options to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving industry. Furthermore, public germplasm plays an important role in delivering priority traits such as disease resistance, brewing qualities, and abiotic stress tolerance to private breeding programs, all of which are essential for a healthy and sustainable US hop industry. In this webinar, we will cover the basics of hop breeding, tell the story of the development of this new program, and describe ways in which brewers and other industry members can get involved with and support public hop breeding efforts.​

ATTENDEES WILL LEARN:​

  • ​The process of developing a new hop variety from the cross to variety release. 
  • The development of a new USDA-ARS breeding program in Prosser, WA 
  • The concrete ways that brewers and other industry members can contribute to and support public hop breeding efforts.


About the Presenter

 

Kayla Altendorf
​​USDA-ARS​

​​Kayla Altendorf is a Research Geneticist with USDA-ARS working in hop breeding and genetics in Prosser, WA. Kayla earned her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota in Applied Plant Sciences - Plant Breeding and Molecular Genetics. Kayla joined USDA-ARS in 2020 and has been spearheading the development of a new hop breeding program located in the heart of US hop country, in the Yakima Valley. The objectives of the program are to develop new hop varieties with improved disease resistance, aroma and brewing characteristics, and yield. Kayla's research interests include improving the efficiency and precision of selection in hop breeding using genomics-assisted breeding and identifying novel sources of disease and pest resistance.