The USask Fruit Research and Breeding Program, led by Dr. Anže Švara, is working to improve horticultural crops for the Northern Prairies. The team focuses on understanding the genetics of important traits to improve crop quality, increase production efficiency, and support sustainability, all while meeting the needs of consumers. Their research explores both wild relatives and modern varieties of crops like haskap, saskatoons, apples, and hazelnuts. By developing new fruit varieties, the group is helping to shape the future of the global fruit markets. 

Our Vision

Our Mission

• Advance horticultural innovation for the Northern Prairies through integrated classical and modern fruit breeding techniques. 
• Unravel the genetic foundations of traits critical to commercial success, sustainability, and climate adaptability.
• Foster stronger ties between industry and scientific research and breeding of winter-hardy fruit crops. 
  

Our Goals

• Enhance fruit quality, yield, and production efficiency while promoting environmental sustainability. 
• Investigate and utilize genetic diversity from wild relatives and cultivated varieties of Prairie fruit crops. 
• Strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of Prairie and Canadian temperate fruit industries through cutting-edge research and collaboration. 
  

The University of Saskatchewan’s fruit breeding program has evolved over nearly a century into one of the most innovative cold-climate horticulture initiatives in North America. It began under Professor Cecil Patterson, who focused on plant survival in harsh prairie conditions, releasing apples, pears, and plums before retiring. His successor, Stewart Nelson, prioritized hardiness, often at the cost of taste, and controversially ordered the destruction of the university’s raspberry collection though technician Rick Sawatzky salvaged and later reintroduced three varieties. Parallel work by Les Kerr on sour cherries and hazelnuts, though unofficial, heavily influenced future breeding efforts. After Professor Cecil Stushnoff institutionalized native fruit breeding in the 1980s, Bob Bors joined the program in 1999, ushering in a new era of commercial fruit development with a focus on flavour, mechanized harvest, and resilience. Bors expanded work on cherries into the highly successful Romance series and built North America’s most extensive haskap breeding program, integrating genetics from Russia, Japan, and Oregon. His emphasis on public engagement, mechanical harvesting innovation, and market-ready varieties helped transform obscure prairie fruits into viable crops.

Past Fruit Breeders