Ray Jacobs' journey down the grocery aisle looks a little different than the average customer.

Examine the varieties of blueberries and strawberries on the shelf. He might point to strawberries from California and blueberries from Peru, including a particular variety of blueberry that is popular with Peruvian growers.

And he understands what it took to get them from the fields to the store: the work to ensure the perfect blend of sweetness and tartness in each berry, and the efforts to ensure each package stays as fresh as possible.

Jacobs is a subtropical plant breeder at Driscoll's. The company, whose roots date back to the mid-XNUMXth century, is a major supplier of berries with growers all over the world.

Jacobs joined Driscoll's after completing his Ph.D. at North Carolina State University in 2015. She studied plant breeding and genetics in the Department of Horticultural Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS). Splitting his time between NC State's Raleigh campus and the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, he learned from two top plant breeders: Jeremy Pattison, a former NC State strawberry breeder who now works for Driscoll's, and Craig Yencho, William Neal Reynolds, CAL Distinguished Professor.

Jacobs and Pattison had collaborated with Driscoll's researchers on a project, which led Jacobs to learn of the opening for his current job. Getting an inside look at Driscoll's work culture helped confirm his interest.

Ray Jacobs subtropical plant breeder at Driscoll's

“They were full of energy and passionate about their work,” says Jacobs.

He directs Driscoll's strawberry and blueberry breeding programs to develop new varieties for Florida and subtropics around the world, and travels frequently to California. Every two years he visits berry-producing regions in places like Peru, Morocco, Australia and Mexico.

Jacobs has been interested in berries for as long as he can remember. Growing up on the South Carolina coast on a large farm, he made attempts to cross the daylilies from his mother.

“I ended up with a couple of attractive and interesting daylilies, but also a lot of terrible ones,” she recalls with a laugh.

It was a hobby until he realized there were jobs in plant breeding. Jacobs earned a BS in plant biology with a focus on breeding and genetics from Cornell University before his doctoral studies at NC State.

Eight years into his position at Driscoll's, Jacobs says the mentoring and training he received at NC State is essential to his success.

His work requires passion and patience. Strawberry cultivation takes about six years from when seedlings are first observed to the time a commercial variety is released. The timeline for blueberries is even longer, up to a decade, because blueberry plants are woody perennials that can take 18 months to grow large enough to be evaluated, Jacobs says.

He finds the work fascinating.

“Every year we look for new strawberry varieties in our test plots,” he says. "That's part of the excitement, even though we're working on long time scales, every year brings something new."

Jacobs also works with the producers, another rewarding part of his job.

“To advise them, whether it's a challenge they're facing on an existing variety or helping them adjust to a new variety they're learning to grow, I really do take feedback from our growers very seriously,” he says.

The job becomes challenging when a new disease appears and resistant berries are needed.

If we start working on it now, we are looking at several years before we can release a new variety," he says.

Spending time with plants is a priority. During the peak breeding season, Jacobs might tour a seedling block, selecting the top 1 percent to advance the breeding schedule. Or she can evaluate varieties already on the show, clearing up any final questions before commercialization.

And yes, it tastes many, many berries.

"I can't complain about that," he says. "I still love strawberries and blueberries."

The flavor is all about a balance between the sweetness and the acidity of the fruit. Other factors, such as aromas, also come into play. And it's not just the opinion of Jacobs' team that matters: They collect unbiased feedback in blind tastings within the community.

“At the end of the day, our biggest goal is to delight consumers,” says Jacobs.

He'll see you in the produce aisle.