Michael Mazourek

Michael R. Mazourek is a plant breeder and associate professor at Cornell University^[1] notable for developing the honeynut squash, a cultivar of a cross first developed by Cornell University plant breeder Richard W. Robinson,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} creating the Habanada,^[8] and Row 7 Seed Company, a seed company co-founded with Dan Barber of Blue Hill and Matthew Goldfarb.^[9]

Michael R. Mazourek
Occupation	Plant breeder

Biography

Mazourek attended Cornell University to study pepper biochemical genetics and through his work with Molly Jahn and Henry Munger became interested in plant breeding.^[10] Mazourek earned his PhD from Cornell in 2008.^[11]

Ripening honeynut squash

Mazourek is a public breeder who works on breeding for quality and disease resistance in peppers, peas and cucurbit crops.^[12][13] Notably, he has bred the honeynut squash and is working on breeding a cucumber that resists downy mildew.^[14] To breed crops, he uses recurrent selection, crossing two plants that exhibit certain qualities to mix in diversity, with the final resulting plant having locked in traits of its parents. He licenses his breeds out to seed companies with a portion of the revenue going back to the lab.^[13]

In 2018, Mazourek founded Row 7 Seed Company with chef Dan Barber and seedsman Matthew Goldfarb, with the goal to connect breeders with chefs.^[15]

Honeynut Squash

As an associate professor in Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell, Mazourek had begun to breed a mini butternut squash but was having trouble selling the new breed to seed companies. In 2009, he met chef Dan Barber at a meal at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. During a kitchen tour, Barber asked “If you’re such a good breeder, why don’t you make this thing taste good? Why don’t you shrink the thing?!” Working closely with Barber, Mazourek began breeding the squash for flavor rather than yield, uncommon in the industry at that time. The resulting honeynut squash is more concentrated in flavor and was rapidly commercially successful.^[16]

References

1. "Michael R Mazourek | Horticulture Section". hort.cals.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
2. Mazourek, Michael; Wyatt, Lindsay; Hultengren, Rachel L. (2016-11-01). "A Suite of High-quality Butternut Squash". HortScience. 51 (11): 1435–1437. doi:10.21273/HORTSCI10987-16. ISSN 0018-5345.
3. Bennett, Sophia McDonald (2015-11-10). "Plant Scientists Are Working With Chefs to Create New Fruits and Vegetables". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
4. "Meet the scientists breeding Vegetables for our changing environment". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
5. "Honeynut Is a Tiny Squash with a Big History". Bon Appétit. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
6. "Don't Squander That Squash: Like Fine Wine, It Might Improve With Age". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
7. "Researcher's squash hybrid changes color as it ripens". phys.org. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
8. "Enhancing the Flavor of Food through Plant Breeding | National Institute of Food and Agriculture". nifa.usda.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
9. Rao, Tejal (2018-02-27). "Seeds Only a Plant Breeder Could Love, Until Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
10. "Faces of Public Plant Breeding: Michael Mazourek". Organic Seed Alliance. 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
11. "Genetic ingenuity: What does it take to put produce on your plate?". May 6, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
12. "Radical Roots: Michael Mazourek". Stone Barns Center. 2015-08-01. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
13. "Beautiful disasters: The wild, wilted world of plant scientists who breed crops ready to thrive on a climate-ravaged earth". The Counter. 2020-04-22. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
14. "Scientists Are Fighting For The Stricken Pickle Against This Tricky Disease". December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
15. Rao, Tejal (2018-02-27). "Seeds Only a Plant Breeder Could Love, Until Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
16. "Honeynut Is a Tiny Squash with a Big History". Bon Appétit. 2017-11-30. Retrieved 2023-12-09.