The key to the ongoing success of any business is innovation and new technology.
Over the last 10 years the Soft Fruit industry has had notable success increasing marketable yield and quality of all the major small fruit crops by adopting new growing systems that offer production efficiencies.
A key challenge for the future is being able to maintain incremental improvements in production efficiencies in the face of increasing labour costs and reduced availability of plant protection products.
The industry is now looking to new forms of smart breeding to provide varieties which will help answer these challenges that will require lower labour inputs and less plant protection products.
For this reason Berryplants partners with several breeding programs in order to provide the bedrock of new Cultivar development.
We also run extensive on-farm variety trials in all the major UK growing regions to test new selections.
Plant Sciences Inc
Based in California, Plant Sciences Inc are one of the worlds most progressive proprietary breeding programs specialising in soft fruit. Plant Sciences now have an excellent track record of providing Everbearer Strawberry and Primocane raspberry genetics that are very adaptable to many of the different growing regions we serve.
This program, lead by a dynamic young team of Breeders has recently diversified in to Vaccinium (Blueberry), we expect more exciting developments in the coming years.
Berryplants Ltd hold the Master Licence for PSI varieties in the UK and Ireland territories.
James Hutton Institute
Scotland has long been known for successful Raspberry breeding and production.
JHI are continuing this proud history. Notable releases are the raspberry Floricane varieties Glen Fyne and Glen Dee.