NIAB EMR strawberry breeder Adam Whitehouse has 13,000 seedlings generated from the Breeding Club at East Malling to consider each year. He hosts the annual East Malling Strawberry Breeding Club/AHDB Strawberry Walk attended by strawberry growers, agronomists and buyers to assess the qualities of June-bearer selections nearing possible release. The event was much better attended than in recent years and this renewed enthusiasm for the breeding programme was considered by many attendees to be due to the undoubted success of Malling™ Centenary, that was released in 2014.
Adam and his team had set up tables spread with 17 June-bearer numbered selections, some nearing release, for assessment, together with standards such as Elsanta, Flair, Clery and Malling™ Centenary. Visitors were not permitted to see the plants in the tunnels as in previous years, due to hygiene fears, and everyone wore protective foot covers. Visitors were encouraged to sample the fruit and leave their comments on evaluation forms. 62% of the Breeding Club’s seedling selections are June-bearers and 38% ever-bearers. It is increasingly applying marker-assisted breeding technology in its quest for disease-resistant varieties with wilt, powdery mildew and phytophthora on the priority list.
An example of a near-to-release variety on show that is also in grower trials this year, was EM2056. It’s a mid-late season June-bearer producing a high yield (1.9kg/plant) and high grade out at 89% Class 1. It has glossy, uniform berries of large size, with 66% above 35mm. It is resistant to crown rot and wilt. New varieties from the programme will be managed and propagated via Meiosis Ltd which is a major shareholder in the Club as well as Mack Multiples, Berry Gardens, CPM Retail and others.