The Yakima Chief Ranches Research Department is responsible for developing and deploying technical innovations in hop breeding and propagation. In hop breeding, the Research Department provides support and information to make data-driven decisions in hop selection, investigates novel sources of genetic variation, and has been at the forefront of new advances in genetics and genomics to complement traditional breeding approaches with molecular-assisted selection techniques. Once an experimental variety is ready to make the leap from the breeding plot to a commercial field, the Research Department is responsible for development of clean, virus-free propagation material, providing the Tissue Culture Lab with media recipes and propagation techniques for rapid and efficient multiplication of clean material, and pathogen testing services for commercial propagation and field plantings to ensure they are free of economically important viruses and viroids.