The James Hutton Institute has recently announced that it is one of the key partners on a new five-year £3.5m genetic research programme which aims to advance the breeding of more sustainable and resilient varieties of soft fruit crops in the UK.
The Soft Fruit Genetic Improvement Network (GIN) which is funded by Defra will be jointly led and managed by the Hutton and NIAB. Work will begin this Autumn and the Hutton team will be led by Dr Julie Graham.
It will introduce a co-ordinated research approach to the genetics of pre-breeding in soft fruit to address the need of industry and to tackle some of the longer-term issues such as changing climatic conditions as well as pests and diseases which are resistant to current forms of eradication.
The soft-fruit industry in the UK is a growth sector where sales have steadily been increasing for the past 20 years and was worth £1.68bn in 2021. Although there has been almost static pricing for strawberries in the market over the past 20 years, the price of raspberries has increased by over 230 per cent in the same period (£2.68 per kg in 2000, to £8.90 per kg in 2021) due to the difficulty in producing high-quality raspberries, where picking and cultivation costs are significantly higher than for similar volumes of strawberries.
With around 83 per cent of the fruit we consume in the UK being imported, the Soft Fruit GIN’s work will deepen our genetic understanding and help develop improved genetic resources and tools that could lead to the breeding of more sustainable varieties which could be used to increase the domestic supply of soft fruit crops.
Dr Julie Graham, Research Lead of the project at the Hutton, said, “If we wish to support our soft fruit industry in this country, then we need to develop new varieties that not only deliver on quality, flavour, texture and yield; but which are resistant to pest and disease, require less input from growers and which can handle the impact that the changing climate is having on soil and the atmosphere.
“The GIN will focus on the main soft fruit crops currently grown in the UK: strawberry, raspberry and blueberry; and will also support the development and expansion of blackberry, while assessing the potential of honeyberry as a novel crop for growers to consider. The Hutton will support one of the two PhD projects funded through the GIN (NIAB will support the other), thus increasing skills in the sector.
“This needs a team effort where scientists work with industry to develop, utilise and share knowledge of genetic and genomic tools. The Soft Fruit GIN will bring together our collective skills and expertise to improve breeding, benefit UK production and have less environmental impact than practices and varieties currently being grown allow.”
Professor Xiangming Xu, Director of Research at NIAB said, “Specific targets within the programme include understanding genetics of improved tolerance to pests and diseases and increased water and nutrient use efficiency in strawberry and raspberry. The project will also develop genetic tools and resources for two underutilised soft fruit crops – blackberry and honeyberry – to assess whether there is potential to increase their production in the UK.
“The Soft Fruit GIN will bring together multidisciplinary expertise from NIAB, The James Hutton Institute and ADAS, to provide the sector with the data and knowledge to transform soft fruit breeding and production in the UK. The timing of this project means that we can harness the opportunities created by the recently passed Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act, developing cutting-edge genetic tools to develop new resilient and economically viable varieties, with reduced environmental impact.”
The project will be run in close partnership with the soft fruit industry and the research data will be made freely available.
The research priorities for the Soft Fruit GIN were developed with significant industry stakeholder involvement, and an advisory committee will oversee the work to ensure it remains relevant to industry challenges. It runs until June 2029.