Scientists at East Malling Research (EMR) have taken a major step towards scientific collaboration with China after it signed a high level Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its opposite numbers in Beijing, China.

Horticultural scientists from EMR were invited to attend the UK China Agritech Innovation Forum, a two-day trade mission organised by Innovation China UK, which is led by Queen Mary, University of London.

As a result of EMR’s presentation in Beijing, which focused on its scientific expertise in strawberry breeding, crop protection, physiology and water use efficiency in crops, the team signed an MoU with the Beijing Plant Protection Station, which is part of Beijing Academy of Agricultural Science.

The East Malling Trust team of Dr Neil Hipps and pathologist and epidemiologist Professor Xiangming Xu, were joined by Mark Coxeter, the managing director of Meiosis, the East Malling-based company which works closely with fruit breeding programmes to introduce new cultivars to the fruit industry throughout the world.

The MoU will see the two organisations now explore the commercialisation of technology in the management of strawberry and cherry disease management and monitoring, as well as water-saving technologies that can be applied to commercial production in China.

Hipps said: “This agreement opens us major opportunities for collaborative research with the Chinese and will strengthen EMR’s global reputation and the reach of our technologies. As a research organisation we have actively sought to build commercial relations at home and abroad to help fund our work and the MoU with the Chinese is a major success.

“The Chinese government has recognised that its food security is fundamental to the long-term success of the country’s economy and social wellbeing. While our research will build upon our existing expertise in strawberries, we are already transferring it to other crops, such as potatoes, and offers huge potential for water and crop protection.

“Our work in the area of strawberries, in terms of breeding new varieties and improving yields and quality, is of huge interest to the Chinese as strawberries are a high value crop and growing in commercial importance due to the emerging middle class in China and their greater disposable income.”

During the visit, the delegation from EMR met scientific organisations in Beijing and Jiaxing and also saw major commercial glasshouses and food production facilities.

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