DEFRA is championing the work of East Malling Research (EMR) in revolutionising UK strawberry production as part of its five-year project.
The joint-funded project between DEFRA and EMR, which kicked off in 2008 and runs until 2013, has identified a “need for improved cultivars that are more productive in the 60-day system and have naturally different cropping seasons in year two”.
Government hopes the centre’s Strawberry Breeding Club will be able to mitigate the effects of climate change, particularly higher summer temperatures and less rainfall.
The new varieties will require less water to grow and need fewer chemical inputs, therefore reducing the environmental impact of strawberry production in the UK.
As part of the £673,392 project, around 13,000 seedlings will be raised annually and evaluated by a team of breeders. Approximately one per cent will be selected for preliminary trials, where they will be compared to standard commercial cultivars.
Three field trials at EMR will identify the best clones to test on commercial farms and also to use as parents for further breeding. Representatives from the Strawberry Breeding Club will be available to discuss two new UK strawberry varieties at Fruit Focus, taking place at EMR on 20 July.
The new strawberry varieties are then being trialled in the field and assessed on six characteristics: yield, fruit size, taste, shelf life, percentage waste and disease resistance.
DEFRA secretary Caroline Spelman said: “Strawberries are quite simply the taste of the summer, as inherently British as Wimbledon itself. Innovative research such as this may revolutionize the way we grow the nation’s favourite berry.”
Dr David Simpson from East Malling Research said: “Consumer demand for fresh strawberries in the UK has been growing year on year since the early 1990s. The British growers have done a great job of increasing their productivity to satisfy this demand between April and October. The future will be challenging due to the impacts of climate change and the withdrawal of many pesticides but the breeding programme at EMR is using the latest scientific approaches to develop a range of varieties that will meet the needs of our growers for the future.”
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