Apple Citizen of the Year

2011 Apple Citiezen of the Year: Dr. Gene Kupferman

Dr. Gene Kupferman serves as Extension Horticulturist and Postharvest Specialist in Tree Fruits for WSU. His role is to serve as a liaison between industry and researchers and to further cooperation among scientists and extension personnel. He is a faculty member in WSU's Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.

Being responsible for bringing up-to-the-minute information about fruit quality, maturity, handling and storage to the postharvest industry, Dr. Kupferman presents information at extension and industry meetings and through the media or newsletters. For example, he has developed the Tree Fruit Postharvest Journal to communicate with the industry on a regular basis. The journal is received by every packinghouse manager and by postharvest research and extension workers throughout the world. He has also created the Washington Tree Fruit Postharvest Conference which attracts 500 people annually to its educational program and trade show. Topics of interest to growers are presented in timely articles published in the Good Fruit Grower, an industry publication.

An increasingly large volume of apples and pears grown in Washington State is stored in controlled atmosphere (CA) to allow for marketing on a year-round basis. New varieties of apples, pears and cherries planted within the last few years have generated a need for new information. In cooperation with other researchers, Dr. Kupferman has focused on research of an applied nature. Following are some examples of the type of research conducted.

Dr. Kupferman graduated from the University of Americas in Puebla, Mexico with a degree in International Political Science, received his Masters from Cal Polytech in Agriculture, and his Ph.D from WSU in Horticulture.