Polka, the Polish bred raspberry introduced to the UK by Hargreaves Plants last summer, is already a strong contender for the autumn market, according to Stuart Stubbins, independent consultant to Hargreaves.
Just how far it will go towards ending what Stubbins calls “the search for the Holy Grail” remains to be seen. But as the consumer demand for both English and Scottish raspberries continues to expand, filling the gap between summer and autumn fruit as well as extending the season is an attractive proposition for propagator and grower alike.
Hargreaves has the exclusive rights for Polka in the UK, and is also sending canes to Europe as a member of a six-strong propagators’ Polka club.
Stubbins, who was previously senior fruit buyer for Marks & Spencer, is convinced the variety can stand alongside established and earlier cropping Tulameen and Glen Ample. Good berry size, colour and high yields are already evident, and Jamie Petchell, Hargreaves technical sales specialist, believes it will be possible to further enhance taste through growing procedures. As significantly, being a primocane, the variety is capable of two crops a year.
The scale of UK take-up in only a year is certainly impressive. Polka is already being trialed in over 60 nurseries. Initially Hargreaves Plants propagated 125,000 canes, a figure which will reach 500,000 this winter and spring, and is programmed to double again by 2005 in anticipation of demand.
Down in Sidlesham, West Sussex, soft-fruit grower Nick Evans - a member of KG Fruits - is optimistic. He is impressed with the size of the fruit and has been getting the equivalent of around 12 tonnes/hectare on his trial plot, which also contains new varieties from the US.
The limited volumes he picked this year have been sold on the London wholesale markets and made between £8-£9 kg, a premium of a third over his traditional fruit.
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