Soft fruit specialist Hargreaves Plants has announced a new appointment to head up the companies R&D activities.
The south Lincolnshire based company has taken on Jane Fairlie as R&D manager, who will join the company in February 2005.
Paul Taylor, chairman of Hargreaves Plants, said: “Our technical work has expanded at such a rate we have been in need of a controlling manager for some time.
“Currently, we have ever growing trials of all conventional soft fruits plus a big development in blackberries, blueberries and asparagus.”
The company also has one of the largest asparagus trials in the UK in north Norfolk, with almost 200 new cultivars under scrutiny.
It also has a dedicated 10 acre site for all soft fruit varieties it can access. Hargreaves has exclusive or jointly managed contracts with soft fruit breeders from many parts of the world.
Its latest venture is in blueberries, and the company confidently expects the UK market to grow considerably and sees significant opportunities in the EU and beyond.
Jane Fairlie moves to Hargreaves Plants from AGM Forbes where she supervised fifteen acres of strawberry production.
Prior to this, Fairlie worked at the Scottish Crop Research Institute, with the soft fruit genetics department. Later she joined Mylnefield Research Services Limited as assistant raspberry breeder and has had a significant involvement in the Scottish strawberry programme, as well.
She said: “This is a really exciting challenge for me. It keeps me in research, but takes me one step further step towards the market.
“I have good experience in strawberries and raspberries but to work with blueberries, blackberries and asparagus will be really interesting.”
