Source:  NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 10/21/20


NC State’s Todd Wehner has been breeding better specialty crops, from cucumbers to melons, for over 40 years, and his latest work with stevia could lead to new opportunities for growers in North Carolina and beyond.

Wehner is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in NC State University’s Department of Horticultural Science. He’s worked at NC State since 1979, and his contributions to agriculture and agribusiness recently earned him a top international industry accolade, Pickle Packers International’s Hall of Fame Award.

The nonprofit trade association, with members in about a dozen countries, bestowed the honor virtually on Oct. 20. The honor goes to those who make the greatest contributions to the advancement and protection of the pickle industry through their technical service, basic research or beneficial inventions.

Phil Denlinger, vice president for procurement with the nation’s top pickle brand, Mount Olive Pickles, praised the professor’s efforts to breed better cucumbers, saying “he’s done a lot for the industry.”

As an example, Denlinger pointed to Wehner’s work in helping growers overcome downy mildew by developing varieties resistant to the devastating disease. Wehner’s released more than 90 cultivars and breeding lines. Some used a cucumber relative from the foothills of the Himalayas to develop nematode-resistant cucumbers.

For more of this story, click here.