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Research & Development

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. 

 
 
 

PSI logo.JPG 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.

 

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NIAB EMR 

 

Well known to many, East Malling has a long pedigree of breeding successful Strawberry cultivars.  Under new funding and management this success looks set to continue. East Malling are at the forefront of developing smart breeding using the latest genetic techniques such as Marker Assisted breeding to make strawberry breeding more efficient.

 

Additionally, the East Malling team, within the IDRIS (Improving Disease Resistance In Strawberry) project, have already identified markers for Phytopthora Fragariae and Phytopthora Cactorum. These markers are already on their way to being incorporated in to the breeding program. Further markers for other globally significant Strawberry disease pathogens are also in the pipeline with the ultimate goal of producing new varieties with improved disease resistance, fit for the modern, low spray input soft fruit industry.

 

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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.