Matthew Ordidge, scientific curator and Mary Pennell horticultural curator of the collection

Matthew Ordidge, scientific curator and Mary Pennell horticultural curator of the collection

The National Fruit Collection (NFC) hopes to provide an “important genetic resource” for DEFRA as the government looks to increase food production and improve commercial fruit output.

The collection, maintained by fruit advisor FAST and the University of Reading, contains more than 3,500 varieties and clones including apples, pears, plums and cherries.

The collection was recently thrust into the limelight when the national media picked up on a new apple, the Lakenham Glory, picked by Margaret Butcher of Faversham in Kent, who is hoping the apple can join the 2,200 apple varieties in the collection.

The Lakenham Glory is likely to be identified officially by the collection’s fruit identification service at Brogdale Farm.

And Matthew Ordidge, scientific curator for the NFC, told FPJ the collection could play a larger part in shaping the industry.

He said: “The National Fruit Collection is a genetic resource for DEFRA and there is a drive on developing the collection, moving towards crops for future seed use.

“We would probably like to make a considered improvement of the genetic resource part of the collection. Apples that have been tested and found to be of good quality and attractive to commercial growers, such as ones with scab resistance, could contribute to the value of the collection in future breeding and we need a basis to access things on. We are looking at preserving the collection, as it is susceptible to the weather.”

Ordidge said of the Lakenham Glory: “It is yet to be officially accepted into the collection. It is said to be a dessert apple not unlike a Cox, but if it was to be grown commercially it would need to have trials by professionals, probably starting off at nurseries.”

The NFC has four main goals in its ongoing project - maintaining and curating the collection; securing its future through the development of cryo-preservation techniques; developing an online database to enable improved access to the collection’s records; and carrying out a number of pieces of research, including molecular genetic research.