Meet ‘Dr. Strawberry,’ the California scientist behind the world’s most interesting berries
WATSONVILLE, CA – AUGUST, 24: Phil Stewart, the global strawberry breeding director for Driscoll’s berries, which controls a third of the world’s berry market, is photographed in a field used for strawberry research in Watsonville, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022. Stewart is in charge of Driscoll’s strawberry breeding program and helps create new kinds of strawberries. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group) Some people look at a strawberry and see a thing to dip in whipped cream. For Phil Stewart, it’s different: He sees potential.
“There are just a lot of fun traits to play with,” he says. “And cultivated strawberries are just the tip of the iceberg. It’s fun to think of what we can work with in terms of wild material.”
Stewart is the global strawberry breeding director at Driscoll’s, the California-based giant that controls a third of the world’s berry market with 900-something growers around the planet. He’s […]