The California Strawberry Commission and the University of California-Davis have settled lawsuits against each other and have plans to further the partnership between the commission and the university's strawberry-breeding program.

The settlement brings to a close legal disagreements dating back to October 2013, when the commission filed a lawsuit against the university related to the strawberry-breeding program's research agreement with the commission. Both that lawsuit and the university's counter suit, filed in October 2014, are ended by the settlement.

Over the next five years, U.C. Davis will release new strawberry varieties available to all farmers, and the California Strawberry Commission will assist U.C. Davis in its identification of new commercial varieties. As part of the settlement, a new strawberry advisory committee will be formed, comprised of university representatives, strawberry farmers and commission representatives.

Since 1956, California's strawberry farmers have supported the U.C. Davis strawberry-breeding program through the California Strawberry Commission (formerly the California Strawberry Advisory Board). Annual contributions and research grants through the commission have contributed millions of dollars to support the development of strawberry varieties uniquely adapted to California's exceptional growing environment.

As part of this renewed commitment to a public breeding program, U.C. Davis announced the hiring of a new breeder for the strawberry-breeding program: Steven J. Knapp, a plant scientist with teaching and research experience at two other U.S. land-grant universities, as well as international plant genomics experience in the commercial sector.

"The hiring of the new plant breeder and the commitment to continue the public program were critical to resolving the dispute," Rick Tomlinson, president of the California Strawberry Commission, said in a press release. "Combined with the leadership of Dean Helene Dillard, the strawberry breeding program is positioned to continue releasing exceptional new plant varieties."

Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture, also voiced confidence that the public breeding program will move forward to identify the best plant varieties for California strawberry farmers.

"I am very pleased to see U.C. Davis and the California Strawberry Commission move into a new era of collaboration," Ross said in the press release. "With a talented new plant breeder to lead the program, the commitment of the chancellor and the dean, and an industry advisory committee to provide input on the program's vision, we have all the ingredients for a partnership that will benefit the California strawberry industry and the university for years to come."

Knapp brings a wealth of research experience to the breeder's position. He served on the faculty of Oregon State University in the Department of Crop & Soil Science for 19 years from 1985, and then joined the faculty of the University of Georgia-Athens in the Institute of Plant Breeding Genetics & Genomics for five years.

He comes to U.C. Davis most recently from Monsanto's Vegetable research and development program in Woodland, CA. At Monsanto, he was the global director for two years for breeding of cucurbit crops, including melons, squash and cucumbers and then the global director for vegetable-breeding technology for three years.

"The strawberry industry and production climates in California are unparalleled," Knapp said. "I look forward to serving as an ambassador for the public breeding program on behalf of the university and state, and working with leaders from industry and academia as well as stakeholders and colleagues throughout California and abroad to tackle scientific challenges in strawberry production, breeding, genetics and genomics."