George M. Darrow: The Dean of Small Fruits

Abstract

George Darrow was one of the leading pomologists of the mid-20 ^thcentury having a 46-year career with the United States Department of Agriculture. During his appointment as small fruit breeder in Glendale and Beltsville, Maryland, he released a number of significant fruit cultivars. 'Blakemore' strawberry and 'Bluecrop' blueberry dominated the industry after their releases. Darrow also wrote the definitive work at the time entitled "The Strawberry" - a valuable reference book to this day. The introduction to this book was written by Henry Wallace, the vice-president of the United States. Darrow did pioneering work on photoperiodism and perfected techniques to propagate and distribute virus-indexed strawberry plants. Darrow received many awards including the Wilder Medal (1948) and the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award from the American Horticultural Society (1960). He was elected fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science in 1965 and served as its president in 1949. He was inducted posthumously into the Maryland Hall of Fame in 1996. Darrow retired in 1957, but his joy of working with plants remained steadfast. He started a pick-your-own strawberry farm with his sons in Maryland and began a robust daylily breeding program which produced 59 cultivars. His failing eyesight ultimately deterred his fieldwork. Darrow died at age 94 after a stellar career.